


Remember Me

by SigmaLoveAndTriangleShipping



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult Dipper Pines, Also fluff, Bill can be a little possessive, Bill knows things that Dipper doesn't, Bill's a little shit, Bill's human form is like 20, Dipper and Bill aren't much for foreplay, Dipper kinkshames himself, Dipper moves in with Bill, Dipper's in denial, Dipper's so confused, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Hinted Stancest, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Past Rape/Non-con, Poor Dipper, Post-Weirdmageddon, Rough Sex, Top Bill Cipher, everyone knows but ford, no one actually dies calm down, they kinda just get right into it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:36:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 62,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SigmaLoveAndTriangleShipping/pseuds/SigmaLoveAndTriangleShipping
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been six years since the end of Weirdmageddon, and with Bill Cipher gone for good, things finally seem normal again; well, as normal as they can be, anyways. But then why does Dipper keep having these strange dreams? Maybe things aren't as "normal" as he'd thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Little Wish

                It all started with one little wish. Wishes on their own are harmless; little things that give us hope and push us to strive for greatness. They tell you that if you wish hard enough, one day your wish will come true. What they don’t tell you is that if you wish hard enough, sometimes your wish will transform into something a little bit different: a want, a desire. Now wants can be very dangerous things. Wanting on its own isn’t bad, but what if you want too much? What if you forget about everyone else, everything around you and focus all of your energy on that want? What if you forget who you are in order to achieve it? It can build you up, make you a better person, or it can devour you whole. That little wish can destroy everything you love, even if you don’t want it to, and there will be nothing you can do but sit back and watch. It all started with one little wish. A “Never-ending Summer.”

                After Mabel told me what really happened, I knew that I couldn’t be mad at her. She was my sister after all, and really it was my fault for not taking her feelings into consideration. How could I have expected to take Ford’s apprenticeship, ultimately meaning that I would have to leave Mabel behind, and _not_ realize that she would be hurt? No, it wasn’t really Mabel’s fault, it was mine. Besides, how could she have known that her one little wish was going to lead to the end of the world? So yeah, there was really no way that I could be mad at her, and after rescuing her from her prison of everlasting dreams, I immediately forgave her. My forgiveness, however, didn’t make everything go away. Gravity Falls was still in shambles, and for a while there was nothing we could do but stick together. Survive and hide, hide and survive. Being back together with Mabel, as well as finding Grunkle Stan and the rest of the survivors was a light in the otherwise dark hopelessness I’d felt. Ford was still gone, though, and he was the only one who knew how to defeat Bill. It was finally time to stop just surviving. We had to fight.

               

                We all banded together in one final showdown, our resolve as strong as ever as we charged his pyramid palace and slipped inside. As we all stood hand-in-hand, we felt like our troubles were all coming to a close; that was, until Stan and Ford had to mess it all up. That moment that I’d looked over my shoulder and seen Bill there, towering over us all, it felt like everything froze. It was as if time itself came to a standstill; I mean, technically it already had at the start of Weirdmaggeddon, but this was different. His eye locked right with mine, like he was staring right into my soul, and at that moment I felt as though everything we were doing, everything we’d all been through had all been for nothing. Pointless. Hopeless. Everyone disappeared, leaving only Ford, Stan, Mabel and I behind. Bill wanted something that we just wouldn’t give him. We couldn’t. As a result, he decided to use us as leverage. Typical Bill. Running for our lives was something that Mabel and I had grown accustomed to. That’s pretty messed up when you think about it, considering we were only 12 at the time. I knew that I wanted adventure in my life, but as Bill caught up to us and grasped us in his hand, I realized that my little wish was even worse than Mable’s. I put everyone around me in danger, just because I wanted to experience a little bit of excitement. How selfish is that?

                As Ford and Stan stared helplessly up at us, fear in their eyes, it was at that moment that I realized we weren’t just leverage anymore. I watched in desperation as Bill went back and forth, trying to decide which of us he was going to kill first. It was slow, agonizingly slow. The moment that he stopped on Mabel? That was the most terrifying moment of my entire life. It was terrifying because I knew that he would do it, and I knew that there would have been nothing I could have done to stop him. I would have had to watch my sister die, feel her body go limp right next to mine. That thought would proceed to haunt my nightmares for years to come. It didn’t happen, but it was terrifying all the same. No, Ford finally gave in, promising to let Bill into his mind to find the secret of taking Weirdmaggeddon worldwide. What none of us knew, however, was that it wasn't Ford. It was Stan. As soon as Bill entered his mind, Ford erased him right out of existence. Too bad it erased all of Stan’s memories, too.

                But we’d finally won. We defeated Bill, and we saved not only Gravity Falls, but the entire world. We made our way back to the broken down shack, exhausted and dejected that Stan no longer remembered any of us, or even himself. Mabel cried more than all of us, but something told me that Ford was the one who was most broken up about it, even if he didn’t show it. Then something amazing happened. I’d even go as far as to say it was a miracle. After going through Mabel’s scrapbook, Stan began to recover his memoires piece by piece, until eventually they all returned to him. Something about this struck me as a little odd, but I didn’t say anything. We were all just so happy that we had him back. After all, what good was saving the world if we lost one of the people that was most important to us? Thankfully we didn’t, and everything seemed like it was finally looking up. It was finally over.

                That night, our last night there and the night before out birthday, I had a very strange dream. It was dark, everything was dark. I was conscious though, almost as if I weren’t dreaming, but I knew that I was. Even though everything was just blackness I could still move, and as I made my way forward the sound of my steps echoed loudly around me. I called out, but my only answer was the reverberating of my own voice. I was in a dark, empty void. Suddenly I heard another voice; it was very faint at first, but as I continued walking it began to grow louder and louder. It wasn’t making any sense though, it just sounded like a bunch of jumbled syllables mashed together. The voice was Bill. And at that realization came another one: the words were being said backwards. I stopped, my entire body going rigid as I stood there. The only thing I could do was listen. I tried as hard as I could to decipher what was being said, but I didn’t need to try long. The solution was suddenly given to me as the words reversed themselves so that I could understand, and I stood in complete and utter horror as I heard them.

                “I invoke the ancient powers that I may return!” This sentence repeated over, and over, and over again. It grew louder, seemingly bouncing off of walls that didn’t exist as they echoed throughout the entire area. They got so loud at one point that I had to cover my ears in an attempt to shut them out, but even that didn’t work. I could hear them in my head, too. It was agonizing. I was terrified. I just wanted it to stop. There was a bright blue flash, and then—

_“Pine Tree.”_ I bolted upright in my bed. It had been a quick, quiet whisper, but it left me in a cold sweat nonetheless. What did it mean? There was no way that Bill could have survived, right? No, no it wasn’t possible. The dream was just a reaction from all of the stress, all of the mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion that I’d been put through over the past several weeks. That was it, nothing more. Or so I thought. In retrospect, brushing it off was a bad idea, a really bad idea. But I was young, I was scared, and I wished more than anything that it was just emotional trauma, as bad as that sounds. That my mind was playing tricks on me. I mean, that was better than the alternative, right? I just wanted to believe that everything was finally over…but wants can be very dangerous things.


	2. Sleepy Little Oregon Town

It’d been years since all of that happened, six to be exact. Mabel and I went back to Gravity Falls each year for the summer, and each time without incident. Well, as “without incident” as Gravity Falls can be. What I mean is that there were no signs of Bill. Well…for the most part. After our 13th birthday party, which everyone in town attended, I might add, Mabel and I hopped a bus back home to the sunny town of Piedmont, California. We met back up with all of our hometown friends, went about our normal lives, finished our last year of middle school and made our way into high school. High school, of course, had its ups and downs, but we survived, just as we always did. We made friends, got into trouble on occasion, made lives for ourselves. But each year there was something that I knew deep down: I yearned for the life of Gravity Falls. The last week of school was always the worst, because while all of the excitement and longing came to its peak, time seemed to move in slow motion. 

It was nearing time for graduation, and Mabel knew exactly what she was going to do right down to the clubs she wanted to join. She was going to the University of Los Angeles for a double major in fashion design and photography, and a minor in art history. Neither of our parents argued; we all knew that Mabel was destined for the arts, and there wasn’t anything that was going to stop her from doing what she loved. I, on the other hand, wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after high school. Yeah I still kept the ghost hunting thing on the table, but my mind always seemed to wander back to Ford’s apprenticeship offer. It was true that Mabel and I were still extremely close, of course, but we both had our own lives now, too. Not only that, but Mabel and I both knew that I wouldn’t be going to UCLA. It wasn’t because I didn’t have the grades, in fact my grades were above average, and I was going to be graduating 2nd in my class. No, it was because regular college life just wasn’t for me. I was book smart, yeah, but I was always much more of a hands-on learner. Sitting in a classroom for over an hour as a professor lectured at me just wasn’t my style.

The week finally came to a close, and our parents threw us a big graduation party after the ceremony. It was also a kind of going away party, as we planned to leave for Gravity Falls the next morning. That night, however, was strange. I had a dreamless sleep, something that wasn’t very uncommon on its own, but all throughout the night I was in a weird state of limbo. It was as if I hit that point right when you drift off, but I could neither go deeper than that nor wake up. And I had this eerie feeling that I wasn’t alone, like someone was there. Watching me. It was strange and restless, as you can probably image, and I woke up feeling as if I hadn’t slept at all. Mabel suggested we put the trip off for another day, as driving on a lack of sleep could be pretty dangerous, but I just really didn’t want to wait. It felt as though I couldn’t, for some reason. Like my entire center of gravity had been shifted by some strange force, one that was pulling me towards that sleepy little town in Oregon.

So regardless of all of her and our parents’ protesting, we made the trip as scheduled. Both Mabel and I drove now, and we each had our own cars, so we made the trip separately. Me in my custom black 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, and Mabel in her violet 2016 Prius. It was about a 9 and a half hour drive to get there from Piedmont, so in order to get there at a decent time we had to leave at like 9 am. We’d made the drive twice so far and it wasn’t really that bad, just long. Plus Mable liked to stop at pretty much every antique store and roadside attraction she saw, so we normally didn’t end up getting in until night time anyways. Which is exactly what happened. 600 miles and about 10 stops later, we finally made it to the Mystery Shack. It was true that Soos and Melody were running the shack now, but they didn’t actually live there. Soos lived there for a while back when he first took ownership, but when he and Melody decided to move in together they got a really nice, two story house out in town. We’d gone there a few times to have dinner with them, and it seemed like they were both really happy together. It was nice. Soos deserved to be happy. Anyways, without the two (or three, with Abuelita) of them living there, it meant that Stan and Ford still lived there when they weren’t out sailing the seas and adventuring. They were both so close now, nearly inseparable, which made both Mabel and I really happy to see, considering how they used to be.

So we made it in around 9 pm. The entire ride had felt much longer than normal, as I’d had this intense feeling of both anticipation and agitation the entire way, almost like I literally could not wait to get there. It got stronger and stronger the closer we came, and strangely enough, as soon as we passed over the town boarder a huge wave of relief just washed over me. Yeah it was true that I was normally pretty excited to come back, but something about this was different. It wasn’t like I just wanted to come back, it was like I needed to. Like something was compelling me to. I, of course, just brushed it off, telling myself that it was just the lack of sleep. Soos and Melody had already gone home for the day, and Stan and Ford weren’t expected back from Greece (where their latest adventure had taken them) until tomorrow, so it looked like it was just Mabel and I there for the night. Or that’s what I thought, until she told me she’d promised to go to a party with Pacifica and probably wouldn’t be back until morning. Looked like it was just going to be me for the night. She of course asked if I wanted to join her, but I told her I was still all partied out from graduation. That’s what I said, at least; in reality something was just really telling me to stay back at the shack. I still couldn’t quite put my finger on it, this weird feeling. It was as if there was something in the back of my mind, like a whispering almost, that just wouldn’t go away no matter what I did. Once again, I brushed it off as sleep deprivation.

As soon as Mabel left I made the trek up to the attic, tossing my bags aside and not even bothering to unpack before falling onto the bed. Since Mabel and I were older now, much older, we were obviously no longer comfortable staying in the same room; we both need our privacy, after all. So, the summer we turned 16 was finally when we decided to call it quits. Since Ford never really slept in his room anyways, and with Soos not using it as his break room anymore, Mabel decide to stay down there. Stan was also kind enough to switch out the twin beds for doubles instead, mainly because we both outgrew the old ones pretty quickly. So instead of the twin beds on either side of the room like it used to be, there was now one full bed where mine used to be on the left, and a proper desk where Mabel’s used to be. I liked staying up there. It was nostalgic, yeah, but the temperature was also much cooler, which I enjoyed. That and it felt more secluded, more private, so I could read and write in peace. But I wasn’t interested in reading or writing at the moment; all I wanted to do was sleep. So that’s what I did.


	3. The Dream

Dark. Everything was dark. I looked around, but all that met with my eyes was blackness. Something about this seemed familiar, almost as if I’d been here before, but I just couldn’t place it. I was conscious, but somehow I knew that I was still asleep, even if it didn’t feel like it. “Hello?” I called out into the nothingness, my own words echoing around me. There was no response. “What is this place?” I said quietly to myself, taking a step forward and listening as the sound of my footsteps seemed to bounce off of unseen walls. I jumped, another voice suddenly taking me by surprise. It was faint, very faint. It sounded as though it was far off ahead of me, so logically I decided to walk in that direction. If it wasn’t for the fact that the noise grew louder as I drew near, it would have seemed as though I wasn’t moving at all. As I began to hear the voice more clearly I found that it wasn’t making any sense. It was just a strange, jumbled mix of syllables. And that’s when the realization hit me. Memories came flooding back, and I finally remembered why this is all seemed so familiar. I’d had this dream before, that night after we’d saved the world from Weirdmaggeddon. The words were being spoken backwards. The voice was Bill’s. The sentence suddenly reversed itself so that I could understand it, even though I now already knew what it was saying.

“I invoke the ancient powers that I may return!” This sentence repeated over, and over, and over again. My body froze, the voice growing louder by the second and causing my head to pound intensely. It grew so loud that I had to cover my ears in the fear that my ear drums would burst. Not even that worked though, because I could hear his words in my head, too. “Stop!” I dropped down to my knees, the noise so loud that I couldn’t even hear as I cried out into the darkness. I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted to wake up. My head felt like it was about to explode, and I screamed at myself to snap out of it. I was suddenly surrounded by a bright blue flash of light, and then—

“Pine Tree.” I bolted upright in my bed, clutching my chest and gasping for breath as my eyes darted frantically around the room. Soft, yellow light was spilling in through the window, and the sounds of birds chirping happily outside told me that it was morning. What time, I didn’t know, but a quick glance over at the clock solved that dilemma: 10:48 am. I pulled up my knees and rest my head in my hands, letting out a deep and shaky sigh as I tried to calm my breathing. What was I so freaked out about again? A dream, that’s right. No, more like a nightmare…wait, the dream! I flung off my covers, jumping out of bed and throwing on my shirt as I rushed out the door. I practically flew down the stairs, almost tripping in the process and swung into the kitchen, my eyes landing on the exact person I was hoping to see. “Ford!” The man jumped slightly, my outburst obviously having startled him considering he had his back to me. He turned around in confusion, his eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across his face when he saw me, “Oh, good morning Dipper! Stan and I just got back, I was wondering if you were—” He stopped mid-sentence, concern taking over his features as he looked at me and tilted his head a bit; I figured I probably looked pretty shaken up. “Dipper, is everything alright? Did something happen?”

“Ford, last night I—” I stopped, but not because I wanted to. It was as if the words simply caught in my throat, and I couldn’t bring myself to say them, no matter how hard I tried. So I just stood there, my mouth hanging open wordlessly as I stared at him in desperation. He took a step forward now, urgency in his voice as he tried to get me to continue, “What is it Dipper, what’s wrong?” I glanced to the side and shook my head slightly, rubbing the back of my neck as I stared off, “N-nothing. It’s nothing, sorry for worrying you.” That was a lie. It was a lie, and I had no idea why I said it. It was like my mouth just moved on its own, like something was keeping me from telling Ford about the dreams. That thought made me very anxious. I glanced back up at him, and I could tell that he wasn’t buying it at all; if anything, it just made him look even more concerned. But there was nothing I could do. He opened his mouth to say something, but right at that moment Mabel and Stan walked into the room, catching both of our attentions. I saw Ford’s expression change, the thought clearly having left his mind, and for some reason I felt…relief? “What the hell is going on?” I thought to myself as I greeted Grunkle Stan, trying to hide my uneasiness for a reason I didn’t even know. I just felt the need to pretend that everything was fine, whether I wanted to or not. So I did just that, suffering in silence as the words from the dream played over and over again in my mind.

The day went by pretty uneventfully. The four of us hung out, watching TV, playing cards, eating and just catching up mostly. Stan and Ford recounted their time in Greece and showed us a ton of pictures; very beautiful country, even if they weren’t the most economically stable. Mabel and I showed them pictures from our graduation, because they were both pretty upset that they didn’t get to make it. Other than that we didn’t really do much but lounge around and talk, which was nice considering the long drive we’d taken the day before. Having a day to relax was just what I needed. In fact, I’d almost completely forgotten about the dream. That is until it was time to head to bed. I stood at the bottom of the stairs, simply staring up into the darkness for a whole 10 minutes before Mabel finally snapped me out of it by saying goodnight. A weird feeling of both apprehension and anticipation washed over me as I climbed the stairs, my hands shaking and my heart beating rapidly as I reached for the door handle. I threw it open, preparing myself as if I expected someone to be there. 

Of course, there wasn’t. The room was exactly the way I’d left it that morning, and I felt pretty ridiculous as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I walked over to the bed and fell onto it, rolling onto my back and staring up at the ceiling as I put my hands to my forehead. “What’s wrong with me?” I said aloud, sighing and closing my eyes as I thought back to the previous night. “I must’ve just had that dream because it was the first night back here…that has to be it.” I tried reasoning with myself, mainly in an attempt to calm my frayed nerves, “And I’m only so freaked out because the dream was, well, freaky. There’s no secret, hidden meaning, it was just a nightmare.” I laughed half-heartedly; it sounded anxious even to me, but I simply shook my head and tried to tell myself that I was just being stupid. After several more minutes of self-convincing, I kicked off my pants, deciding to sleep only in my t-shirt and underwear like I normally did, and reached over to turn out the light. After I got under the covers and rest my head on the pillow, it wasn’t long before I started to drift off into a peaceful slumber. Or so I’d hoped.


	4. The Spell

Dark. Everything was dark. Looks like that good night’s sleep wasn’t going to be happening any time soon. “Not again,” I murmured to myself as I began to walk forward, already knowing how this dream was going to end. I waited for the voice, but…it didn’t start up this time. So I just kept walking, hoping that I would eventually either find something or wake up. I stopped, jumping back a bit as a circle of bright blue light began to make itself at my feet. “What the hell?” I simply stared down at it, my eyes wandering over the light as I tried to figure out what was going on, “This is new.” Words of the same substance began to make their way into the circle; they were in a strange, unknown language, and I read them aloud in confusion as they appeared. They finally came to a stop and I tilted my head to the side as I spoke the last word, not understanding what any of it said.

The ground beneath me suddenly began to shake so hard that it nearly knocked me off of my feet, both the circle and the words becoming so blindingly bright that I had to shield my eyes from them. I reopened them a moment later, stepping back defensively as I watched that same blue light begin to form a triangle shape in the air. The same intense feeling of fear and anticipation washed over me as I stared wide-eyed, realization that the light was making an outline suddenly coming to me. It was an outline of Bill. “No no no no no no, this can’t be happening, this can’t—” An all too familiar laughter began to echo loudly through the room as the figure burst into blue flames, an eye slowly opening to reveal a long, thin pupil; and with that, the figure was complete. A blinding flash took me by surprise as it hit my eyes, causing me to fall back onto the ground with a loud thud. When I opened them again, the entire room was now white…and hovering in front of me was the last person I wanted to see. “Well well well,” He said slowly, obvious satisfaction in his voice as he gazed down at me, “Looks like my little Pine Tree took the bait. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.” I pushed myself up off of the ground so that I was standing again and looked up at him in horror, “N-no, no this is impossible! You’re supposed to be dead!”

He laughed maniacally as his eye grew wide and filled with that same light from before, blue fire now coming out of his hands, “Did you really think you guys could defeat me? I’m a being of pure energy, remember? I _can’t_ be defeated! Do have to give that Stanley credit though, his little trick forced me into hiding for quite a long time. Jumping from Stan’s mind to yours that night used up what little power I had left.” Several screens showed up around me, all playing different memories of mine from the past several years, “So I watched, and I waited. Watched. And waited. All the while storing up my energy until I finally had enough to set that fun little trap for you. But low and behold, the first time I tried to do it didn’t work. Why? Because as it turns out, even with the energy stored up I still didn’t have quite enough power to do it on my own. I needed a piggy back, and where’s the one place that has enough weird energy for me to be able to do that?”

“Gravity Falls…” I said quietly, more to myself then to him as I glanced to the side and tried to comprehend everything he was telling me. “That’s right kid, good ol’ Gravity Falls. You know, for a while there I was actually worried you weren’t gonna fall for it, or that you were gonna catch on or something. Guess you’re dumber than I give you credit for, Pine Tree! And now, thanks to you, Weirdmageddon is coming back full scale!!” With that he began to laugh hysterically, walls of blue flames rising up around us. “No, this can’t be happening, this can’t be—!”

“Oh but it is Pine Tree, and this time there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” I watched in horror as he flew behind me and over to the far wall, projecting a scene onto it which showed cities going up in flames, the blood-curdling screams of terrified people looping in the background. Just then, as his back was turned to me, an idea suddenly popped into my mind; to try reading the strange sentence from before backwards. I had no clue where it came from or why, but at that moment I was so desperate that I had to try, figuring that whatever resulted from it couldn’t have been any worse than this. I was wrong.

I quickly turned back around, looking down at my feet and exhaling in relief when I saw that the words were still there. I started with the last word and began to read them backwards, deciding that I must’ve been on the right track when I noticed them lighting up in reverse order as I spoke them. I felt a strange tingling, almost burning sensation coming from my left wrist, but I ignored it as best I could, figuring that it was just Bill trying to pull my attention away. I also heard him begin to shout things from behind me, such as “Wait wait wait, no!” and “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Stop!” But I simply ignored that, too. As I finally finished the sentence I whirled around to face Bill once more, and that’s when I saw it: a chain of the same blue light was beginning to connect between us. I only caught a glimpse of it though, because right as it connected at the middle I was completely blinded by the light. My entire body was overtaken with a burning sensation, and I heard the sound of my own voice speaking in that same strange language as before. That was the last thing I remembered, and then it all just stopped. Everything stopped.

_Bill’s P.O.V._

“Wait wait wait, no!” That stupid kid. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Stop!” I screamed at him, watching defenselessly as the chain began to form between us. He had no idea what he was doing! This was going to ruin everything! But all I could do was sit back and watch, an invisible force keeping me from going after him. This was not going as planned. How was I supposed to know that he’d try and read it backwards? All of that effort, all of the planning, painstakingly watching and waiting for six whole years, and it was all going to be swept away because of this. Stupid. KID. _Again_! I watched as he turned around, his eyes widening and filling with complete confusion and fear as he noticed the chain. It would have been very entertaining to see under different circumstances, but at that moment all that was on my mind was how much I wanted to wrap my hands around his pretty little neck. To watch the life leave his eyes as he desperately, and futilely, fought back against me. My Pine Tree always was a fighter.

I watched as he threw his head back, his body jolting as if some strong force had overtaken him. His mouth opened, beginning to spill words that only I could understand. Not that I needed to listen; no, I already knew exactly what was going on. I looked down at the cuff that was now around my right arm, the blue chain dangling loosely all the way over to his left. I was infuriated. He finally stopped, and my rage only grew, “You IDIOT! Do you have ANY idea what you just—?!” I looked over just in time to see him falling to the ground, and it was as if I moved on instinct as I flew over to catch him. “Pine Tree?” His head fell back to reveal closed eyes, mouth slightly a gap. He’d fainted. I sighed and transferred myself out of the mindscape, now looking down at his peaceful, sleeping face as he lay in his bed. My plan had only half worked; the incantation I’d had him read gave me a physical form, yes, but I hadn’t expected him to read it backwards. That was the one loophole. And now, because of that, I was stuck here. Stuck with him. I glanced back down at the chain that connected us and glared, knowing that there was nothing I could do to sever it. “If I’m gonna be stuck here for the time being,” I started, building up my powers enough so that I would be able to transform, “I might as well take a form that blends in.” My body became encased in blue flames, the electricity in the room going haywire. I emerged a moment later, my feet touching the floor and causing me to stumble for a moment. It’d been awhile since I’d had a human body of my own; definitely something I would need to get used to again. This form, however, was luckily much more convenient, as it allowed me to move more freely. I smirked triumphantly as the chain vanished, turning over my arm and looking at the inside of my right wrist to see a symbol appearing there: the outline of a pine tree was drawing itself in blue light on my skin, turning black once the lines finished connecting.

After a few minutes of grounding myself and trying to get used to the feeling of being encased in meat, I walked over to the mirror at the far side of the room. I of course had to take a look and make sure everything was in order. I peered at my reflection and grinned; messy yellow-blonde hair, yellow hoodie and black jeans. Not my usual style. Typically I’d go with something much flashier, but I got the feeling that my normal top hat and bow tie would give me away too easily. The iris of my left eye was a bright golden color, but…my right eye was going to be a problem. It looked like my eye normally did in my true form, plus it was bathed in a soft yellow color. “Well that’s not gonna work…” I messed around with my hair, moving it so that my right eye was covered and could no longer be seen. Temporary solution, but it would have to work for the time being. I took one more look at myself and shrugged. It would have to do for now. I walked back over to Pine Tree’s bedside and glanced down at him, a strange feeling coming over me as I watched his chest heave slowly up and down. “Stupid kid,” I murmured quietly to myself, my hand reaching out seemingly of its own accord to brush a strand of loose hair from his face. I shook my head and sat down on the floor, back against his nightstand. I figured I might as well meditate a bit while I waited.


	5. Live and in the Flesh

_Dipper’s P.O.V._

                Hazy. Everything felt…hazy. I slowly opened my eyes, but everything was a blur at first. It felt like my entire body was coming back to life, a strange tingling making its way up my limbs, almost like pins and needles. As my senses gradually began to come back to me, I realized that the inside of my left wrist felt sore, as if I’d burned it on something. My vision cleared little by little, eventually clearing enough for me to see that I was back in my bed. “It was just a dream,” I thought to myself, letting out a relieved breath as I rolled onto my back, “It was just another crazy, messed up nightmare.” I brought my arm up in front of my face, turning it so that I could look at the inside of my wrist and see what was irritating it. It was a picture of Bill inside the wheel, made out of what looked like blank ink. “What the—?” That’s when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye; I looked over, my gaze landing on the last thing I expected to see. There was someone in my room. I bolted up immediately in bed, my eyes widening as I stared at the person in both shock and fear, “W-what the hell! Who are you, how did you get in here?!” They jumped now too, seemingly startled by my outburst as they turned to look back at me, “Oh, so you’re finally awake, huh?” My heart completely stopped as I looked at them…their face was all too familiar to me. But no, that couldn’t be it. But that voice…? Wait. Was that…? No, no it couldn’t be, that wasn’t possible. It wasn’t— “Oh but it is, Pine Tree.” My eyes widened even more, my mind swarming with a huge, jumbled mix of emotions, “B-Bill?!” He stood up and chuckled darkly as he stepped closer, stopping at the edge of the bed and leering down at me with a dangerous grin, “Live and in the flesh.”

                “N-no…” I scrambled backwards on the bed, my back hitting the wall as I cowered in the corner and stared up at him, “No, th-this isn’t possible! How did…h-how did you—?!” He cut me off with an exasperated laugh, “Well here’s the funny thing about that, kid. All of that time _wasted_ hiding out in your stupid head, all for nothing! That incantation you read? It was an ancient spell, one that was powerful enough to give me a physical form again. After gaining said form I was _supposed_ to get rid of you, break out of your mindscape, and once again Weirdmaggeddon would have been back on track. I have to admit, I was kind of worried there when you almost blabbed to Fordsy about the dreams, but luckily I shut that down before you got the chance. So everything was going as planned…easy, right?” He paused, and for a moment I thought he was expecting me to respond, as he simply stared at me. Suddenly he lunged forward and kneeled onto the bed with one leg, slamming his hands onto the wall on either side of me as he leaned in close; uncomfortably close. I jumped, my body shaking involuntarily as I pressed back into the wall as hard as I could, trying in vain to get distance between us. His eye flashed blue as he glared at me, his voice low and dark as he spoke through that dangerous smirk, “But you had to go and fuck that up for me too, didn’t you _Pine Tree_? And now, because of you, I’m stuck here. But you know what?” He came closer, the tone of his voice causing my breath to hitch in my throat as he whispered into my ear, “Now I get to watch you crumble as I make your life a living hell…and by the time I’m finished with you, you’ll be on your knees, begging me to put you out of your misery…”

                I swallowed hard, but my throat felt so dry, like I hadn’t had anything to drink in days. There was a pit in my stomach, a sinking feeling that took hold of my body and made me feel helpless, defenseless. Feeling trapped wasn’t a new experience for me, but this was completely different. Terrifying. This man that had me up against the wall wasn’t just any man. This was Bill Cipher. The same Bill Cipher that forced me out of my own body so that he could take possession of it. The same Bill Cipher that unleashed havoc on the town and tried to destroy the entire world. The same Bill Cipher that would have killed me, my sister, and everyone else in the blink of an eye. That Bill Cipher was here, now, his voice striking me to my very core and making me tremble with every word. He was so close, so close that he could end my life right then and there if he wanted to. “B-Bill…” The sound of my own voice stuttering out his name took me by surprise. He paused, and as he tensed up I realized that it must have taken him by surprise, too. He pulled back a bit to look at me, his eyes becoming almost shocked as they met with mine; I watched as he gave me a questioning look, but I couldn’t figure out why. And just as quickly as he’d gotten there, he was gone, standing back at the edge of the bed and looking down at me with a confused and almost agitated expression. Why, I still had no idea, but I was just thankful that whatever it was had gotten him away from me. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but both of us were caught off guard by the voice yelling up from downstairs, “Dipper, is everything alright up there? I thought I heard a bang.” It was Ford.

                I immediately jumped up and ran for the door. My fingers barely grazed the handle before an arm wrapped tightly around my stomach, the wind getting knocked out of me and causing me to gasp out as I was roughly yanked back. “Grunkle Ford—!” I tried to call out for help, but a hand was plastered firmly over my mouth before the words could slip past my lips. I struggled against him as hard as I could, but it was no use; even in his human form he completely overpowered me. “Listen to me Pine Tree, you’re not gonna tell anyone about this, understand?” I tried with one last desperate attempt to pull away from him, but it only resulted in a sharp and painful jab right to my stomach. I let out a muffled cry of pain, his grip on me tightening and making it extremely difficult to breathe as he growled into my ear, “I said, _do you understand me?_ ” The way that he said those words told me that he wasn’t messing around, and I had no choice but to nod in the fear that he would end up suffocating me. “Good,” He loosened his hold on me, but he still didn’t let go completely, “Because if you try a little stunt like that again…well, let’s just say I won’t be as forgiving next time.” And with that he finally released me; I fell forward onto my knees, my legs weak from the lack of oxygen, and I inhaled sharply in an attempt to get my lungs working properly again. I heard him scoff from behind me as I coughed, and I turned back just in time to see him rolling his eyes, “Humans. You’re all so weak and fragile. I could snap you like a twig if I wanted to, you know that right?” I glared at him as I pushed myself back up off of the floor, a sudden surge of anger giving me enough courage to snap back, “Shut up, you know nothing about us!”

                He raised an eyebrow and smirked in bewilderment, and I immediately felt like I’d made a mistake. “What was that Pine Tree?” I quickly shook my head and glanced to the side, “N-nothing…” I watched his feet as he took a step forward, not wanting to meet his eyes, and I instinctively took a step back, “Oh no no no, it sounded to me like you had something to say.” I jumped as my back hit the door, not realizing how far back I’d gone until it was too late. I glanced up, my eyes locking with his as he continued to step closer to me. He was moving very slowly, obviously enjoying the torment that he was putting me through, and I couldn’t help but put my hands up in defense to try and stop him from coming closer. “S-stop,” I tried to reason with him, but I knew that it was pointless; there was no use trying to reason with a psychopathic demon. He gave me a toothy grin and chuckled as he continued to step up, “What’s wrong, kid? If you have something you want to say to me then please, be my guest.” Right as I thought I was completely screwed, an idea suddenly came into my mind; I had no clue where it came from, and I knew that if I tried and failed it was only going to make things 1000x worse. But for some reason, I knew that I had to try it anyways. I let one of my arms fall to my side, keeping my left one raised up in front of me with my palm facing him, “I command you to stop!” That same tingling, burning sensation I’d felt in the mindscape made its way onto the inside of my wrist again, and I couldn’t help but turn it over to see that it was glowing blue. It only did that for a minute before going back to normal, and as I raised my eyes to look at Bill I realized that he’d stopped dead in his tracks.


	6. Shooting Stars

               He simply stood there and looked at me, unmoving and unblinking; it was actually very unsettling to see. He had a look on his face almost as if he were having trouble comprehending what had happened, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just as confused as he was. His confusion, however, didn’t last long, suddenly replacing itself with a look of absolute rage. “You little—!” I could tell that he was about to attack, but just then we heard footsteps coming up the stairs, making him reel back in frustration. “Dipper?” A knock came at the door, Mabel’s voice sounding from the other side and bringing me probably one of the greatest moments of relief I’d ever felt in my entire life, “Ford sent me to come check on you, is everything alright?” I stared over at Bill, our eyes completely locked as I contemplated on whether or not to tell Mabel the truth. It was as if he knew what I was thinking though, and he slowly shook his head, his eyes flashing blue again as he gave me a warning look. “Y-yeah, everything’s fine,” I said reluctantly, trying to keep my voice calm as I answered her, “I just fell out of bed. I’ll be down in a minute, okay?” And with that we heard her footsteps receding down the stairs, seemingly content with my response and obviously none the wiser of what was actually going on.

                Bill and I just continued to look at one another, the room completely silent aside from our breathing. “You do realize they’re going to figure you out, right?” I decided to speak up, but I didn’t break eye contact even for a second, trying my best to stay collected and seem as though I wasn’t afraid at all. “I don’t think so,” He scoffed, shaking his head and chuckling as he started to move towards me again, “You’re family isn’t really that bright, Pine Tree. As long as I keep clear of Ford I should be fine.” I panicked and put my arm back up to make him stop again, but this time he grabbed my wrist and slammed it back against the door before I got the chance. His eyes were filled with fury as he growled through his teeth again, “Don’t you fucking dare.” I immediately decided that trying to command him wasn’t a good idea; but now that I knew I had the ability to, I could always keep it on the table as a last resort. Plus I now understood what he meant when he said he was stuck here. It wasn’t as though he were just stuck in human form, or stuck in Gravity Falls or anything like that; no, he was stuck to me. A memory of the chain linking us flashed into my mind for a brief second, and I realized that it must have been literal. Reading the incantation backwards had bound him to me.

                “Good job Pine Tree, you figured it out all on your own,” He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes to make it very clear that he was annoyed, “You always were the smart one, like Fordsy. Not that that’s saying much; it was still painfully easy to trick both of you into trusting me.” With that he let go of me and pulled away, a smug and triumphant look on his face, “So no, I’m not worried about them finding me out. Besides, I think we both know why you recognized me so easily.” His eyes met with mine as he gave me a knowing smirk, and I quickly looked to the side, not able to meet his gaze. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? No, no he couldn’t be. I mustered up as much courage as I could to look back at him, steadying my voice again so that I wouldn’t sound nearly as flustered as I actually was, “What is that supposed to mean?” I gave him the most annoyed look I could, turning and opening the door before he had the chance to respond. I crossed my arms and huffed as I made my way down the stairs, hearing him following closely behind. “Aw, what’s the matter Pine Tree? Is someone embarrassed about—?”

                “Dipper, there you are!” Mabel suddenly appeared from around the corner, causing both of us to come to a halt. She smiled brightly when she saw me, but I watched as her eyes travelled over to my “guest”; at first she seemed startled, not having expected anyone to be with me. Then her expression changed to one of confusion, and finally settled on a mischievous grin. “Dipper, I didn’t realize you had company.” She moved right past me before I was able to stop her, stepping right up to Bill and holding out her hand, “Hey there, I’m Mabel! Dipper’s funnier and much more outgoing sister.” I froze up and watched helplessly, praying to any beings that could hear me that Bill wouldn’t do anything stupid. Luckily someone must have listened, because much to my surprise, he didn’t. “Ah, Shoo—…I mean, Mabel!” He shook her hand, that signature smirk still plastered on his face, “I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet face to face!” Part of me really hoped that Mabel would recognize his voice like I had, but at the same time the other part really hoped she wouldn’t. Not because I wanted to protect Bill or anything, but because I was afraid of what he’d do if she found out. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, I knew that Bill was right about one thing: there was a very slim chance that anyone but Ford would realize it was him. “My name’s Bill, I’m a…’friend’ of Dipper’s,” My eyes widened slightly as I looked at him…was he actually going to use his real name? He must really be convinced that I come from a family of idiots; or maybe he was actually the stupid one. Plus, the way he’d said “friend” made me kind of uncomfortable, like he was plotting something. He flashed me a look, and at that moment I knew that he must’ve been able to hear what I was thinking. That thought made things even more unsettling.

                “Bill, huh? Well any friend of Dipper’s is a friend of mine!” With that Mabel turned and began to walk into the kitchen area, “So, how did you and Dipper meet? I’ve never heard him mention you before.” I could see Bill pause for a moment, and I wondered if maybe he couldn’t come up with a response or something. But, of course, he did. He gasped and turned to me, a clearly fake hurt look on his face, “Dipper, how could you! You really haven’t told your family about me? About us?” I stopped now too, my eyes going wide as I stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape. Mabel turned now as well, a playful gleam in her eye and a smirk that read “Gotcha.” I immediately put up my hands in defense, my desperate gaze darting back and forth between the two of them, “N-no, Mabel, it’s not what you think! We’re just friends!” Bill let out another appalled gasp, obviously enjoying the newly-found way of tormenting me, “Just friends? Just friends! I’m hurt! First you don’t tell your sister about me, then you go and lie right to her face. Shame on you, Dipper.” Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. Was he actually going to do this? I opened my mouth to protest again, but Mabel cut me off, raising her hands and grinning triumphantly, “Oh don’t worry bro, your secrets safe with me.” I could feel my face heat up; here we were, my own sister taking Bill Cipher’s side so that they could team up on me. In retrospect I guess it wasn’t really her fault, though. After all, it’s not like she knew it was him.

                “So Mabel,” Bill started up again, finally dropping the hurt act, “Dipper tells me you guys stay here with your Great Uncles, yes? Are either of them around right now?” The way he said the last part let me know what he was doing: he was trying to gauge whether or not he had to worry about Ford. “Yeah, this is Stan and Ford’s place!” She smiled, still oblivious to the truth of the situation, “They both just left for town though, but don’t worry, if you stick around you can meet them later!” I could practically hear the relief in his voice, “Okay, great! Oh, and don’t worry,” He glanced back at me over his shoulder, a smirk that told me exactly what he was trying to imply, “I think I’ll be hanging around for a while.” Mabel clapped her hands together and smiled brightly, “Great, glad to hear it!”

                The sound of a soft chiming caught our attention, and we both watched as she pulled out her cell phone and checked it. “Well, I hate to cut this short,” She looked to Bill as she hastily shoved the phone back into her pocket, “But I have plans to go hang out in town today.” She began to make her way over to the front door, that same mischievous tone in her voice as she stopped to wave back at us, “You two have fun!” And with that she was gone, leaving me alone. Again. Alone in the house with the dangerous Dream Demon known as Bill Cipher.


	7. Demons Can Be So Cruel

                I could tell by the look he was giving me that the same thought came into his mind, as well; or maybe he’d just read it from mine. He chuckled and shook his head slightly, “You just think you’re so smart, don’t ya kid? Think you know everything?” I crossed my arms, glaring back at him as I huffed in annoyance, “You’re pretty easy to read.” That wasn’t a true statement, and in all honesty I wasn’t really sure why I said it at all. Arrogance, maybe? Pride? Who’s to say; either way, I could immediately tell he wasn’t very pleased by it, even if he knew that it was a lie. He gave me a look of both disbelief and intrigue, his grin widening as he took a step towards me again. This time, however, I stood my ground. This only seemed to interest him more. “Oh, is that true? I’m like an open book to you, aren’t I Pine Tree? Well how about I share something with you, something that I bet you didn’t know,” The look in his eyes gave me a vague idea of where he might’ve been heading with this, and if I was right, I wanted to distract him as quickly as possible. “Listen Bill, I—”

                “You remember how I said I’d been hiding out in that brain of yours for about six years now? Well, even if I wasn’t able to manifest myself during that time, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t still around,” I tried to deter him again, but he only continued to cut me off, “Around to see what you saw, hear what you said.” His eyes darkened again, his voice low as he stepped right up to me and leered down, “Watch your dreams. Hear what you thought.” My mind instantly filled with panic; was he being serious? There’s no way—“Oh but there is, my little _Pine Tree_. I was there the _whole_ time. During class, when you would stare out the window and daydream, not paying any attention to your teachers.”  
“S-stop…” I raised up my hands, pressing them firmly against his chest in an attempt to keep him away as he inched closer.  
“When you desperately tried to think up excuses to tell your sister, about why you didn’t want her to set you up with anyone.”  
“Bill, stop,” My back hit the wall. Again. Bill didn’t even have to try and trap me, I was apparently pretty good at doing it myself. I shut my eyes, squeezing them tight and shaking my head to try and block out what he was saying, “Stop it…!”  
“When you lied to your parents, telling them that the reason you had such restless sleep was because of nightmares.”  
“No…no, stop! Stop it!” I barely even noticed as my wrists were grabbed and pulled from his chest, suddenly replacing themselves against the wall by strong hands.  
“Those nights alone when you were so lost in the pleasure, thinking there was no one around to hear you. Well I heard you. Every. Single. Time.”  
“N-no, no this can’t be happening, this can’t—” But I knew that it was. I knew exactly what he was saying. And I knew there was nothing I could do to stop him from saying it.  
“ _Whose name were you calling out, Pine Tree?_ ”

                My breathing quickened, my heart beat rapidly increasing as I tried my best not to look at him. The reality of the situation was slowly sinking in; he’d been there the entire time. He saw it all. He heard it all. How was I supposed to deny what he was saying when he’d actually been there for it? I knew that no matter what I said, no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to lie my way out of this one. And that was a scary thought. Bill Cipher having something against me was one thing, but this wasn’t just “something.” This was _everything_. “Y-you said…” I finally spoke up, but I still had nowhere near enough courage to actually look at him, so I simply kept my eyes closed, “You said that you…saw my dreams, too…?” He let out a soft chuckle, and I felt him slowly loosen his grip on my hands and move back. His next words were not at all what I’d expected. “How do you think you knew what my human form looked like, kid?” My eyes shot wide open, my mouth slightly agape as I stared at him in disbelief, “W-wait…are you saying that _you_ made me have those dreams?” I had to admit that I felt kind of hopeful; if Bill had been the cause, then the implications wouldn’t all be on me. Right? “Sorry kid,” He shrugged and grinned mischievously, “I didn’t make the dreams. I just helped with them.” He gave me a wink before turning and walking smugly out of the room, leaving me there to try and comprehend everything he’d just told me. If he hadn’t actually given me the dreams, then…I didn’t really want to think about what that meant for me. What I did know was that I couldn’t just stand there and let my mind race; no, I had to think of something else. That or risk losing my sanity.

                I reluctantly followed him into the living the room, where I found him sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over the other and a smirk on his face that would have put Lucifer himself to shame. He looked at me intently, slowly reaching his hand over and patting the spot next to him. For some reason, I couldn’t resist going over. Almost as if he were compelling me to. The few steps over to him felt like they were in slow motion, and I could hear my heart beating loudly in my chest as I watched his eyes wander over me. I sat on the very edge of the seat, my body stiff as I wrung my hands in my lap and looked everywhere in the room but him. “You know,” He suddenly spoke up, and I could feel him leaning closer to me, “That’s one thing I never understood about you humans.” I finally forced myself to look over at him, our eyes meeting and only seeming to cause my heart to beat even faster, “W-what’s that?” Before I knew what was happening he had has arms on the couch on either side of me, and his knee in between my legs as he pushed me back and leered over me, “You all think you’re so good at hiding how you feel. Well not around me, Pine Tree. Your body doesn’t lie.” I tensed as I felt his hand slowly begin to trail down my chest, my eyes wide and confused as I stared up into his, “W-what are you—?”

                The sound of the front door opening made the both of us jump, Bill pulling back so quickly that I barely even saw him move at all. He glared heatedly in the direction of the intruder, obviously pissed that he didn’t get to continue with…whatever that was. “Dipper, you home?” I instantly recognized the voice, and by the panicked look on Bill’s face, so did he. It was Stan. I watched curiously as Bill seemed to freeze up, clearly trying to figure out what to do. I had to admit, it was pretty interesting to see him express such a rare emotion: fear. But it wasn’t Stan that he was afraid of; no, it was whether or not Ford was with him. I opened my mouth to call for him, but the sudden look from Bill completely shut me up. So we both simply waited in silence, listening intently to figure out if Stan was alone or not. The sound of only one set of footsteps entering the house confirmed it. “Dipper?” He called out again, and this time Bill prompted me to answer instead. I stood up, cautiously walking by him as I made my way over to the entryway and met with Stan. “Hey Grunkle Stan,” I smiled happily and hugged him, relieved that I was no longer alone with Bill, “Good to see you!”

                “You too kid,” He pulled back to look at me, his hands on my forearms and a guilty smile on his face, “Sorry again that Ford and I couldn’t make it to graduation. I tried to convince him to cut the trip short, but you know how he can be.” I nodded and laughed, “Don’t worry, I know exactly what you mean. But like I said it’s no big deal, you guys didn’t really miss much anyways. It was pretty boring to be honest.” He chuckled and shook his head, his eyes trailing passed me and growing confused as his gaze seemed to stop on something; I didn’t really have to guess what he was looking at. Or rather, who. His arms dropped back to his sides, a curious smile on his face as he motioned past me, “Who’s your friend, kid?” I glanced over my shoulder, only to find that Bill was now standing behind me at an uncomfortably close distance. Our eyes locked, and I gave him the best “don’t you dare” look I could muster. But, of course, he didn’t heed my warning _at all_.

Before I even had the chance to respond his arm snaked its way around my waist, pulling me closer to him as he flashed Stan a devilish grin. “Bill!” I seethed through gritted teeth, immediately trying to pull away from him. It didn’t work, his grip on me only growing tighter the more I struggled. “Bill, huh?” My attention turned back to Stan as he repeated the name, his mind seeming to wander for a moment as he thought. I could practically feel the worry radiating off of Bill from beside me, and I wondered if maybe Stan had actually put two and two together. He seemed to snap back a moment later, however, a polite smile on his face as he extended his hand out, “Nice to meet you Bill.” This seemed to calm the demon as well, his body relaxing as he shook my great uncle’s hand, “And you must be Stanley, right? It’s nice to finally meet you, too. Dipper’s told me a lot about you.” I watched as Stan tilted his head, obviously eyeing the two of us up curiously and with an interested smile on his face, “So uh, how long have you and Dipper been…acquainted?” He wiggled his eyebrow suggestively as he said the last word, not even trying to hide what was going through his mind. I couldn’t help put slap my hand against my forehead and groan; now everyone was ganging up on me. “Oh, it’s been quite a while now. Years even.” I looked up to see Bill glancing over at me, that smug look still plastered on his dumb face. Was he really going to keep going with this stupid act? A sudden discrete but sharp jab to the ribs answered that question for me. I glared up at him in protest, slowly but surely reaching my limit with the way he was acting. It was bad enough that I had to be stuck with him, but making my family believe that we were…together? Demons could be so cruel.


	8. Mistakes Were Made

                “Well, I’ll leave you two kids be,” Stan smiled as he waved us off, walking passed us and into the living room, “If you need me, I’ll be watching TV.” I so desperately wanted to stop him, to grab his arm and tell him what was actually going on, but I knew there was no way that was going to happen with Bill right beside me. If I wanted to inform someone I’d have to wait until I was alone to do it, and who knew when that was going to be. “Not gonna happen Pine Tree,” The sound of Bill’s voice murmuring lowly into my ear suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts. Shit. I was going to have to get used to this whole “mind reading” thing. He chuckled and began leading me away from the living room and back up the stairs to the attic. There was really no use fighting him, as much as I wanted to. If anything I could cause a scene, but what good would that do, really? I was stuck with him no matter what, so making my family dislike him would only end up causing more problems for me. So I simply sighed and crossed my arms, allowing him to lead me back to my room. Well, I guess it was _our_ room now. I shuddered at that thought. “I really don’t get you,” He laughed as he shut the door behind us, finally removing his arm from around me and letting me move freely, “Are you actually gonna try and say you _don’t_ want to share a room with me?” I immediately whirled back around to face him, my fists clenched tightly as I shot him a heated glare, “Of course I don’t!”

                “Oh really?” His eyes grew darker as he smirked more, his voice sensual, “I think your dreams would tell me otherwise.” I immediately reeled back, my face heating up almost instantly as I clenched my fists tighter, a feeling of extreme embarrassment coming over me. “Sh-shut up…” Was all I could manage to say before I turned around and walked over to my bed, sitting down on the edge and trying to preoccupy my mind with anything but him. And much to my surprise, he didn’t push the subject like I expected him to. He simply walked over and sat crisscross on the floor in the same place I’d first found him, his back pressed against my end table. He took up the same meditative stance from before, flashing me one more quick grin before closing his eyes and letting the room fall into complete silence. I simply stared at him for a few moments, wondering if he was just messing with me and waiting for me to drop my guard before striking. However, after ten minutes of just sitting there, watching his chest slowly heave back and forth with his breathing, I finally decided that it was okay to relax. I had to admit, it was an interesting thing to see someone as unpredictable as Bill do something as calm as meditation, but if it gave me some peace and quiet for a little bit then I really wasn’t one to complain.

                I slowly got up and made my way over to my desk, deciding that I would work on my journals for a bit. After Bill destroyed the ones that Ford had made, I spent almost a year trying to recreate them from memory as best I could. To be honest, it wasn’t really that hard. Back in those days I always had journal number three on me, and I’d read it enough times that I probably could’ve recited every single page in my sleep. The other two were a bit more difficult, as I hadn’t had nearly as much time to study them. But I did get to read them a few times before they were destroyed, and Ford was pretty impressed when I’d showed him, so I must have done a good job remaking them. After those three were finished I simply kept going, adding more and more books of my own research onto the original trilogy. By this point I had four of my own completed, so there were seven in total, plus I was currently working on number eight. So I sat down, turned on my desk lamp, picked up my pen and got to work.

                Things always stagnated when I was home, for obvious reasons, but now that I was back in Gravity Falls again I felt all of my excitement and determination come flooding back. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, my eyes meeting with the calm face of Bill as he continued to sit there, motionless and silent aside from his breathing. A new idea suddenly came to me, and I quickly turned back to my book, immediately putting pen to paper and writing down my thoughts. Chronicling my time with Bill seemed like it would make a pretty good addition to my research; that was probably the one good thing that would come out of this mess. If anything, at least it might help to keep my sanity intact. So I worked for several hours, filling page after page with more notes, research, and conjecture about this whole Bill situation. I was so focused, in fact, that I didn’t even realize how much time was passing by, my eyelids progressively beginning to feel heavier and heavier the more I wrote. Next thing I knew I was drifting off, my pen falling out of my hand several times as I tried in vain to stay awake.

 

                “ _Pine Tree_ ,” I awoke with a start and gasped loudly, my senses all flooding back to me as I bolted up in my chair. “Whoa kid, calm down!” I jumped at the voice that came from beside me, my eyes darting over to see Bill standing there. He had one hand on my desk, leaning his weight onto it as he looked down at me with concern in his eyes. Wait…concern? He reached out his hand and put it lightly on my shoulder, causing me to jump a little; part of me was very apprehensive, but as I looked up at him I couldn’t help but be surprised. He actually, genuinely looked worried for me, something I definitely didn’t expect from him. That’s when I noticed something else interesting: I had a blanket over my shoulders. I glanced at it, gripping the soft fabric in one of my hands before looking back to him in confusion, “Did you…?” He paused for a moment, simply staring back at me with a look I couldn’t quite read. Then he turned his attention to desk, motioning towards the several open journals that were sprawled out on top of it, “Still working on these things, huh?” I looked back to the pages and nodded, “Yeah… _someone_ destroyed the originals, so I had to remake them. But you already knew that.” I said with a tinge of annoyance, only managing to earn a laugh from him, “You’re obsessed with these stupid things.” He reached for the newest one I was working on, picking it up and studying it regardless of my attempts to stop him. “What’s even the point? You know I could just destroy them all again, right?” I immediately jumped up, nearly knocking my chair over as I snatched the book from him and clutched it to my chest protectively, “No, I’ve worked really hard on these!” I gave him a look of desperation, and he quickly put up his hands in defense, “Yeesh kid, relax, I was only joking! Besides, it’s not like they’re a threat to me anymore, so I wouldn’t really gain anything by destroying them this time.” I subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, setting the journal back down and closing the rest of them, as well.

                I glanced over at the window, surprised to see that the sun was now beginning to set. “Geeze, how long was I out for…?” I murmured to myself, looking over at the clock to see that it was now 7:45 pm. “Well you were writing for about three hours, so I’d say you were asleep for around four and a half.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously, “Were you…watching me that whole time?” He shrugged and walked past me, starting to make his way to the other side of the room, “Well I was meditating for the most of it, but even then I can still see what’s going on around me.”

                A familiar voice coming from downstairs caught my attention, and much to my dismay, Bill’s. Our eyes met, a shit-eating grin slowly spreading across his face that told me exactly what he was thinking. “Bill, please,” I desperately tried to stop him, knowing exactly what he was about to do. It was one thing to embarrass me in front of my family, but now he wanted to up the stakes…by embarrassing me in front of Wendy. “Bill no, please stop!” I tried everything I could to deter him as he made his way over to the door, even going as far as to outright beg him not to do it, but he just wasn’t budging. “Stop!” His hand grasped the door handle, my mind completely overtaken by panic and causing me to do something stupid. _Extremely_ stupid. “I…I command you to stop!” He froze in place, and it was at that very moment that I knew I was fucked. The room grew absolutely silent, to the point that it was deafening. My nerves fired up, every hair standing on end as I held my breath and simply waited for the inevitable. After several moments of nothing, he slowly began to turn his head to look at me over his shoulder; his eyes spelled complete destruction.


	9. No Escape

                Next thing I knew I was slammed back against the far wall with so much force that it knocked the wind out of me entirely, causing me to gasp and cough uncontrollably. He was up against me, his body pressed to mine and his fingers suddenly latching around my throat as he growled into my ear, slowly beginning to squeeze, “ _What was that_? I could kill you right now, Pine Tree. Right. Fucking. _Now_. You know that, right?” I let out loud and raspy breaths, desperately trying to get more air as his grip around my neck tightened. My vision began to blur around the edges, my body going slightly numb; I reached my hand up to grasp his, my voice coming out broken and weak as I spoke, “B-Bill…please…s-stop…” It was odd, and part of me thought that I’d heard it wrong, but it sounded like his breath hitched in his throat, his grip suddenly loosening and allowing me to breathe again. I gasped, my lungs burning as they once again filled with oxygen, thankful that I’d gotten him to stop before I passed out. I simply stood there, breathing in and out deeply as I waited for my body to feel normal again; Bill’s hand slowly slid to the nape of my neck, slender fingers no longer wrapping around my throat, but other than that he didn’t move either. I could feel his breath hot against my neck, his head suddenly moving so that his lips brushed against my skin and sent a shiver down my spine. His thumb began to rub softly back and forth on the sensitive skin, his other hand slowly trailing down my side and stopping at the small of my back. The way that he moved, the way that he touched me was oddly…sensual? My senses were seemingly running on 110% now, allowing me to feel everything, and it was then that I realized just how close we actually were. His body was pressed right up against mine. “B-Bill…?” I could feel my face beginning to heat up, his name coming out more breathy than I’d intended, but…being this close just felt…strange.

                All of his movements suddenly ceased and he slowly began to pull back, but just enough so that we could see each other. And by that I mean his face was now mere inches from mine, his hands not straying from me as he looked into my eyes. His gaze was soft, something that I never thought I would ever see in him. Our noses brushed together lightly as he leaned in a little bit more, and he was so close…so close to me. “I’m sorry…” He said softly, and with that he pulled away and took a few steps back. I couldn’t help but stare at him in shock, my eyes wide as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. Did Bill Cipher just…apologize? To me? And what was with that whole thing? The touching, and that look he’d given me. It all felt so…wait. Was…was he just fucking with me? Was that what this was? “No.” His voice was stern, and I knew that he was telling the truth. Before I had the chance to ask him anything else, however, he turned and walked right out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he left and leaving me there to wonder what in the hell just happened. I let myself slowly slide down so that I was sitting against the wall, putting my hand on my forehead as I sighed and stared off at nothing in particular. If he wasn’t just messing with me then…what exactly was all that?

 

                I stayed up in my room for the next hour, simply sitting in that same spot as I let my mind wander. It wasn’t until I glanced over at the clock that I realized how much time had passed again, and I quickly jumped up to head downstairs, realizing that Bill wasn’t back yet. I rushed down the stairs, half of me afraid that he’d done something stupid, and the other half afraid that…my mind suddenly filled with panic at the realization that he could be gone. I wasn’t sure why that thought scared me so much, but a feeling of dread came over me as I began to make my way around the house to look for him. But I couldn’t find him anywhere. I came into the kitchen last, seeing that Stan, Ford, Mabel, and Wendy were all sitting at the table and talking with one another. “Hey,” I said quietly as I leaned in the doorway, trying to hide the distress in my voice as they all turned to look at me. “Oh, hey Dipper! What’s up, where’ve you been all day?” Ford chimed happily, standing up and coming over to see me. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me curiously, slight concern in his voice, “Is everything alright? You look kind of shaken up.” Wait…what if Ford had seen him? No, no they were all acting pretty normal, so that couldn’t’ve been it. “Have you uhm…did you see my friend leave earlier?” The confusion in his eyes told me the answer even before he did, “No, I just got back a few minutes ago. I didn’t even realize you had a friend over.”

                Wendy suddenly joined him, a knowing smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and looked at me intently, “Oh, but I saw him.” I gulped, immediately knowing where this was going but realizing that I was powerless to stop it. “Dipper, why didn’t you tell me that you had a boyfriend?”  Ford’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between us, obviously having no clue what was going on, “What? A boyfriend?” I hissed through my teeth, flashing Wendy a half-hearted yet clearly betrayed glare, which only made her start laughing. “Oh my god dude you’re face! I’m sorry, but it’s just so priceless right now!” Great. This is exactly what I wanted. Bill better hope that he was gone, because if he showed up again I was gonna kill him. That’s when I realized that Ford was staring at me, and I was completely taken aback when I looked over at him. He had his hands together in front of his face, which had a huge, adorably goofy grin on it as he eyed me. “Uh…Ford—?”

                “Dipper that’s great news!” He suddenly threw his arms around me so tightly that he was practically squeezing the life out of me, “I’m so happy for you!” I coughed and wheezed slightly, trying my best to pry him off, “F-Ford, I can’t breathe…” He quickly let go and put up his hands apologetically, obvious excitement in his eyes, “Sorry sorry, I just…” He trailed off and glanced to the side, rubbing the back of his neck as his smile turned to one of slight embarrassment, “I’m just surprised is all.” My gaze moved past him to where Stan and Mabel still sat, Mabel nudging Stan with that same goofy smile as he chuckled and shook his head, his face slightly red. Wait…was Stan blushing? Oh. Oh wait. Realization suddenly hit me, hard, and I mentally slapped myself for not having noticed it sooner. “Th-thanks Ford,” I smiled softly before suddenly remembering what Wendy had said. “Wait…boyfriend?!” She burst into laughter again, waving her hand up as I huffed in annoyance, “Oh come on Dipper, there’s no point trying to hide it anymore. I talked to him earlier, he told me everything before he left.” Oh yeah, I’d almost completely forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for him.

                “Wait, he left?” I could hear the panic begin to seep into my voice again, “Where did he go?” She grinned and shook her head, finally managing to calm her laughter as she motioned in the direction of the front door, “Don’t worry dude, he said he’d be back in a couple of hours. Seemed like something was bothering him, but I didn’t really wanna pry. Maybe he just went on a walk to clear his head or somethin’?” I nodded and stared off as I thought. Something bothering _him_? _Bill_? I wondered if maybe it was about what had happened. I mean, he had left pretty suddenly, it was kind of weird. “Earth to Dipper?” I jumped as I noticed the hand waving in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts, “You gonna hang with us for a bit?” I nodded absentmindedly and made my way over to the table, taking up one of the empty seats as Wendy and Ford came back to sit, as well. We all sat there and talked for a while about various topics, just enjoying each other’s company; I contributed to the conversation as well, but I couldn’t help but space out several times, my mind preoccupied with other things.

                After a couple more hours Wendy had to leave, and everyone else decided to go their separate ways, too. I once again stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared up into the darkness of the attic. Bill still hadn’t come back yet, and it was getting really late. He told Wendy he’d be back in a few hours but…I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Worried that he wasn’t actually coming back. I sighed, climbing the stairs slowly and dejectedly, stopping when I reached the top and sitting in the window like I always used to do. I stared out of the glass, which I now realized looked just like Bill…how did I not notice this before? Looking out into the night was oddly calming, and I wondered if it was warm outside. That’s when I remember the roof. I got down and quietly headed back downstairs, making my way through the house until I got to the ladder that Stan always used to try and hide from us. I climbed up, carefully opening and closing the hatch as to not wake anybody, figuring they were all probably asleep by now. I crawled onto the small platform and sat down where I normally did, letting my legs dangle over the edge as I stared up into the night sky. The moon was full tonight and pretty close to the earth, making it seem 10x bigger as it bathed everything in a soft, white glow. There was a light breeze rustling through the trees, but other than that it was actually pretty warm out…a beautiful night. It was so peaceful. Just what I needed to relax and try to get my mind off of everything.

                I was so entranced by the scenery, so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t even realize I was no longer alone. That was until a pair of arms slowly wrapped around me from behind. I jumped, gasping in shock as I looked over my shoulder to see who was there; I mean, it wasn’t really much of a question, there was only one person that it could’ve been. And as my eyes met with gold and yellow, I knew that I was correct in my assumption. “Bill!” I had to admit, I was surprised to see him; surprised and oddly relieved. Maybe even happy? “Where’d you go?? I thought…” His eyes widened curiously, his mouth slowly turning upwards into a smirk, “Were you actually worried that I wasn’t coming back?” I immediately looked away, my face going red as I tried not to look at him, “N-no, I just…” He chuckled and shook his head, his hold on me tightening a bit and making my cheeks heat up even more, “I told you kid, I’m stuck here, whether I want to be or not. That doesn’t mean I can’t go off on my own from time to time, but I’ll always come back. I have to.”

                Something about the way he said that last part was strange…like there was some sort of double meaning, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Part of me wanted to pull away from him, but I knew that it would probably be useless to try; that and the other part didn’t want to, for some reason. It didn’t feel uncomfortable at all…I hated to say it, but it actually felt kind of nice. Calming. But, I’d never admit that to him. The snicker that came from behind me suddenly reminded me that he could hear my thoughts, and I mentally cursed myself for forgetting again. “Don’t even say anything…” I murmured, turning my face away in an attempt to hide the ever-growing blush that was overtaking it. He pressed his face down into my shoulder, and I could feel his body shaking as he tried to stifle his laughter. That’s when I remembered what Wendy told me earlier, and I responded with a quick jab back into his ribs, half-heartedly trying to show him that I was pissed. That seemed to be the last straw, however, and he suddenly burst out into laughter. That, of course, only managed to piss me off even more. “It’s not funny, Bill!”

                “I can’t help it, you’re just so cute when you’re mad!” He let go of me as I whirled around to face him, instead wrapping his arms around his own stomach as he laughed even more. “I-I’m not cute!” I shoved him in annoyance, resituating myself so that my knees were on either side of him, “I’m so gonna kill you.” I didn’t even realize I was straddling him until he wrapped his arms around me again, his hands stopping on the small of my back and pulling me closer. His smirk held a hint of seduction as he looked up at me with attentively, “You don’t look like you want to kill me, my little Pine Tree.” He reached up one of his hands, softly brushing some of the hair back from the side of my face; I gulped subconsciously as I stared down into those eyes, noticing that my own breath was coming out slower and deeper than normal. “Why do you call me that?” I asked, referring to the new version of the pet name he’d given me forever ago. “What, Pine Tree?” I shook my head, “No, you’ve always called me Pine Tree, but…recently you’ve been saying _my little_ Pine Tree. Why?” He titled his head and grinned curiously, “Are you trying to say that you’re not mine?” The statement completely caught me off guard, and I quickly tried to hide my face as I felt it heat up even more; this time, however, he didn’t let me, instead resting his hand on my cheek so that I couldn’t turn away. “Well,” I decided to try and counter his statement instead, lifting up my arm so that he could see the symbol on my wrist, “Wouldn’t you technically be mine?” Now it was my turn to smirk, watching as he scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Don’t get too cocky, kid. Do you really want a repeat of earlier?” I knew that he was referring to the whole “I could kill you” thing, but all I could manage to think about was the feeling of his lips against my neck, the way he’d looked at me and how close he’d been…

                I felt his hand move to the back of my head, and before I even had the chance to realize what was happening he pulled me down and smashed his lips to mine. My eyes went wide, my brain seeming to completely shut down…then it snapped back a moment latter. Reality hit me hard, my trembling hands darting up to his chest as I pushed him away and jumped off of him. “W-what the hell are you doing?!” I stared down at him in disbelief, the light breeze no longer enough to cool off my steadily rising temperature. He looked back up at me, and he almost seemed…confused? It didn’t last long, however, his expression quickly changing to one of slight annoyance. He stood up now as well, moving so that he was uncomfortable close to me. “Why did you push me away?” At first I thought he was mocking me, but when I saw the look on his face I realized that he actually seemed to want an answer. “Wha…are you serious!? Why the hell do you think! Y-you can’t just…why would you…?!”

                “Are you really gonna keep denying this, Pine Tree?” My eyes widened even more, my face growing hotter. Part of me wanted to ask what the hell he was talking about, but something told me I didn’t want to know the answer. Actually, something told me I already did. But if he was saying what I thought he was, there was no way in hell I’d answer him. I clenched my fists, my heart pounding as I tried my best to glare at him and mask how flustered I actually was. “I-I’m going to bed…” I finally spoke up, averting my gaze from him in embarrassment. I pushed past him, but before I did I could have sworn I caught of glimpse of a smirk. That bastard…he was enjoying this, wasn’t he? As pissed as I was, I made my way quietly back to my room as to not wake anyone. I knew he was following me; I could hear his footsteps, feel his eyes on me. I just crossed my arms and tried to ignore him as best I could, but his words continued to repeat in my head as I climbed the stairs to the attic. I attempted to shut the door behind me as soon as I got in and lock him out, but of course it didn’t work that way. He caught his foot in the door and pushed it open with so much force that it nearly knocked me off my feet. “Oh no no no, I don’t think so. You’re not escaping from this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, hope you've been enjoying the story so far! A little author's note for all of my Steven Universe fans out there, the part where Ford finds out about Dipper's "boyfriend" was inspired by the scene where Garnet first sees Stevonnie. That's what I envisioned it like when writing it, so maybe that paints a better picture for you!


	10. Denial

                I simply looked at him over my shoulder and glared before walking over to my bed, too tired to deal with him anymore. I plopped down onto it with a loud sigh, rolling onto my back and staring up at the ceiling. I glanced up to see Bill walking over as well, and before I could protest he plopped down right next to me. I turned onto my side to face him, giving him a look that caused him to laugh, “What, where do you expect me to sleep?” I huffed and glared at him once again, “Demons don’t need to sleep. Besides even if you did you could just sleep somewhere else, like downstairs.” I turned around so that my back was to him, knowing that he wasn’t going to listen anyways. I was pretty much stuck with him here. “Maybe I just wanna hear my little Pine Tree moaning my name in his sleep.” I could feel my face go beat red, his bluntness always seeming to catch me off guard. You’d think that I would’ve just expected it by now. “W-what the hell is that supposed to mean…?!” I turned just in time to see him sit up and pull his hoodie over his head, tossing it across the room. I couldn’t help myself as I let my eyes wander over him, starting at the top of his chest and slowly trailing down. I bit my lip slightly, his pants hanging low on his waist and revealing really well-defined v-lines…why did his human form have to be so god damn attractive?

                He chuckled lowly, and as I looked up at him I realized that he was watching me. “O-oh, I uhm…I was just—” I gasped as his lips came down onto mine again, and he immediately took the opportunity to shove his tongue into my mouth. The kiss was hot and lustful, and I couldn’t keep myself from moaning as his hands slid up my chest, pushing my shirt up in the process. I brought my hands up and tried to push him away, but this time he wasn’t budging. He pulled back, his lips suddenly latching onto my neck as his nipped at the sensitive skin. “B-Bill, what…w-what’re you…” It was nearly impossible to talk, my breath coming out in short pants, and I couldn’t even think as his hands roamed over my body.

                 “You know,” He started, pushing me lightly onto my back again and parting my legs so that he could position himself between them, “I never understood why humans seemed to crave sex so much, it just never made any sense to me. But…” His gaze slowly trailed down my body, a smirk on his face as his eyes met with mine again, “I have to admit, after seeing all of your little ‘displays’ over the years I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.” His eyes had an almost glazed look to them as he pressed his body down against mine, making me gasp slightly, “B-Bill stop…! I can’t…I-I don’t…” Even with all of my protesting, I knew that I wanted him. But there was just no way I was going to admit that, not to him and not to myself.

                His expression suddenly softened, his smirk being replaced with a smile as he gently caressed one of my sides. What he said next took me completely by surprise. “Don’t worry Pine Tree, I’m not gonna force you into anything.” As surprised as I was, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. He chuckled and buried his face in the nape up my neck, and it took everything I had not to try and shove him off of me again. Having him those close, feeling him against my skin, it was all so…intimidating. It made me feel that if I didn’t push him away, if I didn’t run, then I would break. I’d get sucked in and there would be no escape for me. He moved back just a bit to look at me, his smirk back now as he gazed into my eyes, “It doesn’t mean anything if I just take what I want. Looks like I’ll just have to make you admit how you feel about me instead.” My eyes widened in shock, my face going red as he started laughing. What the hell was that supposed to mean!? Now I shoved him off, his laughter dying down as he moved back into the spot next to me. It grew silent after that; I stared up at the ceiling in frustration, trying my best now to look over as I could feel his eyes on me. It wasn’t like he was checking me out or anything, it felt like he was just…looking.

                “After all, I’ve waited thousands of years for you. I think I can wait a little bit longer…” He murmured the words more to himself than to me, but I still ended up hearing them in the stillness of the room. “What? What do you mean?” I finally glanced over at him, only to see a smile on his face and a look that said he knew something that I didn’t, “Don’t worry about it, Pine Tree. How about we head to bed for the night, hm? I know you’re starting to get tired.” Part of me wanted to press the subject, but something told me I wasn’t ready to hear the answer; that, and I was actually getting pretty tired. He pulled the covers over the both of us, and I turned on my side to face him as well, my eyes growing heavy as I moved around to get comfortable. I let out a loud yawn, too tired to even protest as he draped his arm over my waist. My mind began to wander as I lay there, trying my best to ignore the current situation and fall asleep. How did this even happen? Never in my life would I have thought that I’d be here, lying in bed with Bill Cipher. Why was he being so nice to me? Why was he flirting with me? Why was he trying so hard? And what the hell did he mean by “getting me to admit my feeling for him?” He chuckled softly, obviously having been listening in to my thoughts, “Get to sleep, kid.” He didn’t need to tell me twice, my eyes closing and my mind slowly beginning to drift off into a peaceful slumber. _Finally_.


	11. My Dear Sister, Mabel

                “Dipper!” My eyes shot open and I practically fell out of bed, the sound of someone yelling my name from downstairs scaring me out of my sleep, “Wake up sleepy head, I’m making breakfast!” It was Mabel. I groaned and put my hand over my eyes, the sunlight coming through the window at just the right angle to blind me. That’s when I felt something strange, my senses slowly beginning to wake up, as well. There was…someone in my bed? I pulled my arm away just enough so that I could see and glanced over, my eyes meeting with the now familiar gold and yellow ones of my guest. “Good morning Pine Tree,” He smiled, propping up on his elbow and looking down at me, “Sleep well?” I’d completely forgotten he was in bed with me. “Uh…yeah,” I sat up and stretched, my cheeks tinting pink as I turned away from him. The room grew silent aside from the sounds of our breathing, slow and rhythmic in the otherwise still room. My mind began to race, replaying the memory of last night like a movie scene. Did he really kiss me? Bill Cipher, the demon who had terrorized my family for an entire summer and who tried to destroy the entire town? No, not just the town, but the _world_. What the hell was he doing? What the hell was _I_ doing? How could I just let myself get so close to him?

                The annoyed huff from behind me reminded me that I wasn’t alone with my thoughts; I didn’t have that luxury anymore. I turned to look at him, gold and yellow eyes staring back at me in frustration. He was scowling, a look on his face that told me he had something he wanted to say. However, right as he opened his mouth to say whatever it was, he stopped, eyes darting over to the door. “Looks like Shooting Star’s getting restless.”  
“What do you—?” I jumped slightly, the knock that came at the door interrupting the quiet room and taking me by surprise; I hadn’t even heard anyone coming up the stairs. “Hey Dipper, you awake in there?” I threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, deciding that it was better to answer her before she tried just walking in. “Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute!” I called back, walking over to the mirror and straightening out my clothes to make myself look more presentable. I caught a glimpse of Bill in the mirror, and for a second I could have sworn he looked…hurt? Sad? I turned around, but by the time my eyes met with his, the look was gone; maybe I’d just imagined it?

                “You uh…gonna come down for breakfast?” He didn’t actually respond at first, just…stared at me. I simply stood there and stared back, both waiting for a response and trying to figure out what he was thinking. As easy as it was for him to read my thoughts, it was pretty much impossible for me to do the same. It was clear that something was on his mind, but no matter how hard I tried to I just couldn’t figure him out like he could me. “Ford’s home,” He finally spoke up again after what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, “So I’ll probably go out for a bit.” And there it was: that same reluctant, worried feeling that I’d had the day before. It washed over me like a wave, an intense sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I found that it was suddenly very hard to look at him. Right as I was about to avert my eyes I noticed that his grew wide, clearly surprised as he stood up and began walking over to me. “Hey,” He put his hand under my chin, turning my head so that I was forced to look at him again, a small and understanding smile playing on his lips, “I’ll be back. Don’t worry.” I couldn’t help as I let out a shaky and relieved breath, the feeling slowly beginning to dissipate. Something about the way he said those words calmed me down and made me believe him, but…why did I feel like this? Why did I feel so attached to him? I didn’t want to think about the answer, so with that we exited the room and made our way downstairs.

                “There you are,” Mabel greeted us happily at the bottom of the steps, that same mischievous grin making its way onto her face as her eyes wandered over to my guest, “Good morning you two. Are you gonna be joining us for breakfast, Bill?” He smiled and shook his head, “Sadly no, I actually have plans this morning. But thank you for the offer.” He then turned to me, his smile sweet as he leaned in to whisper into my ear, “I’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t miss me too much.” He gave me a soft kiss behind the ear, my face going red as I hadn’t expected him to show affection right in front of my sister. Or in front of anyone, for that matter. By the look on her face I could tell that she was trying to hold back a delighted squeal; I managed to flash her a quick glare, despite my embarrassment. “See ya later, Mabel.” Bill smirked and waved before heading out the front door, and as soon as he was gone she burst out into laughter. “Oh my god you guys are so cute!” I shoved her half-heartedly as I made my way into the kitchen, the sweet smell of chocolate and syrup wafting through the kitchen, “Sh-shut up…”

                She followed me in, stepping back over to the stove as I went and sat down at the table. From the looks of it she was making pancakes, the table nicely set with four sets of plates, cups, and silverware, along with two bottles of maple syrup and a pitcher of orange juice. The light from the morning sun was pouring in through the windows, showering the room in bright yellow, and the sound of birds chirping could be heard faintly from outside. Looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. The room was quiet aside from Mabel’s soft humming and the occasional scraping of kitchen utensils, and it seemed that the entire shack just had an overall calming atmosphere to it. “So,” Mabel suddenly spoke up, not bothering to look back at me as she continued with her cooking, “I take it Ford doesn’t know?” Her question caught me off guard, and I had to admit that I didn’t quite understand what she was referring to. “About what?”

               

                “About Bill.” I froze. My brain seemed to completely shut down as I stared at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open, “W-what…what do you mean?” Was she saying what I thought she was saying? “Oh come on Dipper,” She turned around, a knowing look in her eyes as she smiled at me, “Did you really think I didn’t know?” I gulped, my eyes trailing down as I began to stare blankly at the empty plate in front of me, “…how?” She laughed, and out of the corner of my eye I could see her shaking her head, “Really? I know you’ve had a thing for him for years now, and then out of nowhere comes this blonde haired, _golden_ eyed, super attractive guy that just so happens to _coincidentally_ be named Bill? Two plus two equals four, bro bro.” My head snapped back up as I looked over at her, my voice laced with both shock and confusion, “Wait, what do you mean you’ve _known_ I had a thing for him??” She walked over and took up the seat next to mine, that signature grin on her face the entire time, “How do I put this? You uhm…you talk a lot in your sleep.” What? What did she mean by…? And then it clicked. “Oh…OH.” My face went beat red, and I immediately felt the need to look everywhere in the room but at her. “Yeah, didn’t you ever wonder why I wanted to change rooms?” I had to admit, I did find it kind of strange that she was the one who asked Grunkle Stan if we could have separate rooms. But I mean, I completely agreed with her that we were getting too old to share, and I was going to mention it to him anyways, so I never really thought to ask her about it. “For a while I thought that it was probably just nightmares, after all that’d happened. But eventually I realized what was actually going on.”

                “Shit Mabel, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t—” I stuttered out, clearly flustered by the new information that was being dropped on me, but she quickly cut me off, “No don’t worry about it, seriously. As soon as I put it together I immediately talked to Grunkle Stan, so you didn’t cause _too_ much trauma.” She laughed and nudged me playfully with her elbow, obviously enjoying messing with me, but I was absolutely mortified. She’d known this _whole_ time about my thing for Bill, and not only that, but she knew that it was him right from the beginning. “Wait,” A question suddenly popped into my mind, “If you knew it was Bill why didn’t you say anything sooner, like when you two first met?” She chuckled, tilting her head to the side and giving me a look as if I were crazy, “Are you serious? Once I realized it was him, I wasn’t gonna mess around with that. Who knows what he would have done if he knew I’d figured him out? So I just played along with it. Besides, I kind of just immediately assumed you two were, you know.” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, that playful tone in her voice that only managed to make my face heat up even more. I crossed my arms and turned away from her, huffing in both frustration and embarrassment. My twin sister, my own flesh and blood, knew that it was Bill the whole time and _still_ took his side to gang up on me; I couldn’t believe this. Well, I guess I could. It was Mabel after all.

                “Hey, good morning you two!” I jumped, my body immediately going rigid at the sound of Ford’s voice entering the kitchen. Mabel gave me a quick wink before jumping up and heading back over to the stove, “Good morning Grunkle Ford! I’m making us chocolate chip pancakes! Go sit, they should be ready any minute.” He smiled and nodded before walking over to the table and taking up the seat next to mine, “How are you this morning Dipper?” I smiled back at him, but even to me it felt strained and nervous. Why the hell was I so on edge around him all of the sudden? The other day I would have jumped at the opportunity to tell him what was going on, but now it was like I was just really worried he was going to find out. I guess…maybe I didn’t want him to. “Dipper, you alright?” The sound of my name being said once again dragged me out of my thoughts, and it wasn’t until then that I realized I’d zoned out. “Oh, sorry Ford. Yeah I’m fine, just tired. Haven’t really been getting much sleep the past few nights, you know?” He nodded, his attention thankfully turning to Mabel as she came over to set some pancakes down in front of us. I poured myself some juice, the sweet smell of chocolate wafting up and making me realize just how thirsty I was. We both thanked Mabel for the food, and she urged us to go ahead and eat while she continued to make more.

                It was silent again after that, aside from the same soft sounds from before, now accompanied by silverware against plates and the occasional gulp of juice. “So,” Ford suddenly spoke up between mouthfuls of pancake, “I hear that your boyfriend’s been staying with us. When do I get to meet him?” I nearly spit out the orange juice I’d just so happened to take a drink of, instead settling on forcing it down and nearly chocking to death in the process. What the hell was I supposed to say? How was I going to respond to that? Of _course_ Ford was going to want to meet him, so how was I supposed to tell him he couldn’t? What excuse could I possibly come up with? These questions and many others were suddenly clouding my mind, making it nearly impossible for me to think straight and come up with a solution. Luck, however, was definitely on my side, because right then Stan decided to make his appearance as he waltzed in through the doorway. “What’s cookin’ Mabel?” He strolled up, peering over her shoulder in curiosity before coming to sit next to Ford. He caught him up in a conversation, which was enough to seemingly make him forget his question, thank god. I knew that this was something I was going to have to deal with eventually, but now was just not the time for it.

                After making sure that there were enough pancakes for all of us, Mabel eventually came to sit, as well. We all fell into the regular daily chatter, each enjoying our delicious breakfast, and all of my nerves and thoughts finally seeming to settle into a comfortable sense of complacency. Ford tried several more times to bring up Bill, but if Mabel wasn’t distracting him then it seemed that Stan took it upon himself, instead. I had to admit, I was getting very lucky with this whole thing; Mabel of course knew, but Stan was helping me as well, even if he didn’t realize what he was doing. As we helped clean up the dishes and everything afterwards, it seemed as though I could finally rest easy. For the moment, at least. Stan and Ford were heading out into town, and Mabel was going to pick up Candy from the airport, so it looked like I was finally going to have the house to myself for a little while. Actually _to myself_. I walked back up to my room, hearing the front door close and the sound of cars starting outside shortly after. What was I going to do now that I was actually alone? I didn’t really know, to be honest. I simply stood in the middle of the room and stared off into space for what felt like forever, my mind seeming to shut down and go numb after all of the stress and anxiety it was being put through. Maybe that’s what I needed: to just relax.


	12. The Family of Interuptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I think I'm gonna go back to the non-indented paragraph format from now on, because I realized the paragraphs look weird if you're viewing it on mobile. But let me know which one you guys like better!
> 
> *Oh and I almost forgot, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been leaving kudos and all the nice comments, I really appreciate it and I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far!! <3

I grabbed the blanket off of my bed and made my way back downstairs, deciding that I would settle in on the couch and unwind. I made myself a nice hot cup of tea, shut all of the blinds and curtains so that the house was dark, turned the air down to 68 degrees and headed into the living room. I popped “Insidious” into the DVD player and sprawled out on the couch, wrapping myself up in my thick comforter and getting as comfortable as I possibly could. I knew that it probably would’ve look pretty strange to anyone else, watching a horror movie to relax, but paranormal horror was by far my favorite genre. It didn’t actually scare me as much as interest me; I’d lived through things that some people couldn’t even imagine seeing on the silver screen. So while some of the more intense ones did freak me out on occasion, I did love to watch them when at all possible, because overall they did have a weird way of making me feel calm. Probably because weirdness and the paranormal were my forte, so to speak, and being around them made me feel like I was in my element.

It was a nice feeling, having the house to myself. The room was dark and cold, just how I liked it. The tea was sweet, the blanket soft. The rest of the house, nice and quiet. I sighed contently, my blanket wrapped around me like a cocoon. There was one thing on my mind, however; while being alone was calming, I couldn’t ignore the slight empty, almost sad feeling seemingly buried deep in my chest. I knew what it was, I just didn’t want to admit it. My pride wouldn’t let me. I just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I actually missed that stupid demon, wanted him to come back. A picture flashed into my mind, one of him and I curling up together to watch movies instead of doing it by myself. “Stupid Bill…” I murmured as I quickly shook it off, instead focusing all of my attention back on the paranormal horror flick at hand. It was very interesting, literally keeping me on the edge of my seat and actually managing to make me jump a few times. It was about a kid who could astral project, and who’d managed to draw spirits to his body when he’d accidently projected too far one night and could no longer find his way back. I guess the threat of having your body taken over by an evil entity was just something that resonated with me. I made a face at that thought, my mind wandering back to the very person I was trying to distract it from.

“Seems like someone’s missed me.” I jumped, a small scream escaping my lips regardless of my attempt to suppress it. I’d been leaning forward, the current scene keeping my eyes plastered to the screen as it built up tension, and the voice had whispered into my ear right as a loud cacophony of piano keys sounded. I immediately grabbed the first thing that I could get my hands on, a pillow, and swung around, hitting him as hard as I could with it. “God damn it Bill, don’t do that!” I seethed, glaring up at him and watching as he nearly doubled over in laughter. “But your reactions are just too hilarious, I had to!” With that he hopped over the back of the couch and landed in the spot right next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders almost instantly, leaning toward me in a way that blocked my view of the movie and made it so that all of my attention was on him. “Uhm…can I help you?” I tensed up a bit, his eyes somehow both mischievous and flirty as they locked with mine. He leaned forward even more and I couldn’t help but lean back, pressing my back against the arm of the couch as I scooched away from him. He huffed at this, his expression changing to one of frustration. It wasn’t like he was angry or sad, he just looked really…irritated?

He was just staring at me with that look, almost like he were waiting for me to do something. I didn’t know what to do, though, so I just stared back in confusion. We sat like that for a few moments, the sound of the movie still playing in the background, and I had to admit that I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He huffed again, and before I had the chance to ask what was wrong he crashed his lips to mine with so much force that he nearly knocked me off of the couch. My eyes went wide, my hands instinctively darting up to his chest as I pushed him back a bit, “W-what are you doing…??” I couldn’t do this, not again. I could not allow myself to do this with him. Not with him.

Hurt and dejection slowly began to seep into his eyes, an extreme feeling of guilt washing over me as I remembered he could hear my thoughts. Damn it. His expression changed back to one of frustration, almost like flicking a switch…but this time I saw something in those eyes that I wasn’t expecting. Desperation. “Why are you fighting me so hard?” He suddenly yanked me forward by my leg, not hard enough to actually hurt, but hard enough to move me so that I was now laying on the couch. Once again, before I even had the chance to respond, he was on me. His body pressed down into mine, his tongue forcing its way inside my mouth and making me gasp out in shock. The way that his tongue moved against mine…it felt like want. Like desire. As if he put all of the yearning I didn’t know he had into the kiss. As if he were trying to prove something to me. As cool as the room had felt a moment ago, it now seemed as though the temperature had gone up about 20 degrees. I tried to hold back the moan I felt at building up inside me, but I just couldn’t help it. And that’s when I realized I wasn’t fighting back.

He pulled back slowly, a string of saliva connecting between us as I panted softly, our eyes meeting once more. He looked at me through a lidded gaze, his eyes swimming with lust and a hint of something I couldn’t quite place. “Dipper…” I couldn’t help but hold my breath, my body beginning to shake at the sound of his voice saying my name with such…emotion behind it. He looked as though he had something he wanted to say, something important. One of his hands slid up to rest at the back of my head, fingers tangling loosely in the brown locks. “I—”

“Hey Dipper, you in there?” Bill’s eyes suddenly grew wide and panicked, cursing under his breath as he moved to get off of me. It was Ford, and from the sounds of it he was coming right toward us. I watched as Bill quickly jumped over the back of the couch, a clearly annoyed look on his face before bolting in the opposite directions, the sound of his footsteps fading up the stairs to the attic. Ford entered right then, and I couldn’t help but let out a shaky sigh of relief that Bill had gotten away in time. “Y-yeah, what’s up Ford? I didn’t realize you were home, I thought you went out with Stan earlier?” He stretched and shook his head as he stopped in the doorway, “Nah I decided to stay back, get some work done. I thought I heard voices though so I came up to check.” I gulped slightly before motioning over to the movie that was just ending, hoping he would buy it, “Oh yeah I’ve just been watching this, so that’s probably what you heard. Actually just finished though, so I’m probably gonna head back up to my room and grab a nap.” I flicked off the TV before he had a chance to question it, scooping up my comforter in my arms and beginning to make my way towards the stairs. “Yeah, I should probably get back to it,” He turned, clearly not suspicious in the least bit as he waved over his shoulder at me, “Just holler if you need anything!”

I let out another relieved breath as I practically ran up the stairs, throwing my door open and stepping inside before shutting it behind me. I found Bill sitting on the left side of my bed, one knee up and his back pressed against the wall. He was seemingly biting down on the tip of his thumb, a look of both deep thought and frustration on his face as he stared off at nothing in particular. “Uhm…Bill?” I cautiously made my way over and dropped my comforter back down onto the bed next to him, “Is everything—?”

“You’re family has _the worst_ timing in the history of the entire universe, Pine Tree. They just love to interrupt, don’t they?” He wasn’t actually asking, but thinking back I had to admit he was kind of right; since he’d shown up I couldn’t even count the number of times we’d been disturbed by someone so far. But I mean, knowing my family it wasn’t really that surprising. He continued to stare off, and for a while I wondered if he even realized I was still there. He was practically fuming. I slowly and warily sat down next to him, pulling my legs up on the bed and leaning toward him a bit to try and get his attention. When that didn’t work, I raised my hand up and placed it gingerly on his shoulder, trying my best not to set him off, “Are you…okay?” Finally he turned his attention back to me, his gaze softening as he released his thumb and instead brought his hand down to rest on my thigh. I watched as the raging fire in his eyes began to cool down, a small smile making its way onto his face instead. “You’re so cute, my little Pine Tree.” His thumb moved back and forth, beginning to rub small circles on the inside of my thigh, “You try to hide it, but the truth is you really do care for me, don’t you?”


	13. Secrets

I felt my cheeks grow warm. My eyes widened slightly, and I quickly looked away to try and hide my face from him. It of course didn’t work, because he instantly brought his hand up to my cheek to turn me toward him again. But much unlike the smug, triumphant look I was expecting to see, his eyes were once again soft and attentive. His thumb brushed lightly over my lips as he leaned forward, his own lips replacing it mere seconds later. My eyes began to close on their own, my mind completely overtaken with the feeling of the kiss…no. No! I pulled back, jumping off of the bed and turning so that my back was to him, “No, Bill! I-I…I can’t do this! I just can’t!” My mind was racing, my heart was pounding, my stomach was sinking; what the hell was wrong with me? Why did he, of all people, have to make me feel this way? Why him!? I clenched my fists, my breathing becoming short and shallow and my legs beginning to shake. “I don’t understand you!” I hadn’t realized he’d gotten off the bed too until his hand landed on my shoulder, spinning me around to face him again. His eyes were both angry and distressed, and I could feel the tears forming in the corners of mine. “ _You_ don’t understand _me_?! Y-you tried to destroy the _world_! You tried to kill my family! You…you tried to kill me!”

“I never would have killed you!!” He yelled, finally no longer able to keep his composure, “Don’t you understand?! Even if I would have succeeded, even if I had taken over the world, I wouldn’t…I-I couldn’t have…!” The tears finally spilled over from my shocked and confused eyes as I stared into his desperate ones, “Wha…what…?” I wasn’t sure if it was the look in his eyes or the way that he’d said it, but I believed him. I completely and 100% believed him. He stepped up, raising his hand and letting it rest on my cheek; his thumb lightly wiped away the tears that now stained it. He sighed as he looked at me, shaking his head slightly as he brought up his other hand to wipe away the rest, “Oh don’t cry, kid. You know I hate to see you cry…” His eyes looked pained as he spoke, and something about the way he’d said it caught my attention. “But…you’ve never seen me cry before?” He stopped, seemingly taken aback by the statement; he regained his composure a moment later, however, “Kid I’ve been in your mindscape for years. I’ve seen everything, remember?” He gave me a soft smile and a wink, clearly trying to play it off, but something about it just wasn’t convincing. It was as if he had some type of information, knew something that I didn’t, and it wasn’t the first time I’d felt that way either.

“Bill…what are you not telling me?” His smile faltered, but only for a moment before he shook his head and let his hands fall back to his sides. “Kid, stop worrying so much all the time, you’re gonna hurt yourself one of these days.” I watched as his eyes grew sad, extremely sad…as if he were reliving some horrible memory. Even seeing it somehow made me upset, and I wondered what it was he could have been thinking about.

He snapped back a second later, smirking at me with that alluring gaze. “But enough about that. What I want to know is how long it’s going to take you to admit it.” I rolled my eyes, turning away from him and walking over to my desk before sitting in the chair, “Admit what?” I heard his footsteps coming toward me, but I still jumped as his arms draped over my shoulder from behind. He leaned forward, his hot breath now right against my ear. “Admit that you’re in love with me.” Everything stopped. My heart, my breathing, my thoughts; everything. It was as if everything around us simply fell away, leaving only him and I. My eyes slowly began to widen as the reality of what he said sunk it. His tongue suddenly flicked out, running along the shell of my ear as he began to trail his hands down my body. “Maybe I’ll just have to make you say it…” His hands continued to move lower and lower as his lips latched onto my neck, sucking gently and causing my body to shake. “B-Bill wait—”

He suddenly spun the chair around so that I was facing him, pushing me legs open before kneeling down between them. He brought his hand to the back of my head and pulled me forward, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth as soon as our lips connected. I gasped in shock and immediately tried to push him away, but he just wasn’t budging, the kiss only seeming to grow more intense the more I tried to fight. I hadn’t even realized that my eyes had closed, one of my hands gripping tightly onto the fabric of his shirt; I was letting this happen. I couldn’t let this happen! I turned my head to the side, finally breaking the kiss and catching him off guard just enough to push him away. “What the hell are you doing, y-you can’t just—!” Before I could even finish he practically dragged me down onto the floor with him. He shoved me lightly onto my back, bringing his hands down onto the floor on either side of my head as he hovered over me. “You’re really fighting me hard this time, aren’t you?”

“This…time?” I stared up at him in confusion, watching as his expression changed to one of surprise. It grew quite again, neither of us budging as we looked at one another; my eyes searching for answers, his not willing to give them. He looked almost like a deer caught in headlights, and as I watched him I realized that his eyes seemed to be searching for something, too. What, I didn’t know. Then something strange happened; his eyes grew soft, desperate, even sad as he stared down into mine. One of his hands slid over to rest softly on my cheek, his thumb running gently across the skin. “Bill…?” It came out as barely a whisper; why did he have to look at me like that? He slowly began to lean down, coming closer and closer until our lips finally connected again. It was…passionate. Like he was pouring all of his emotions into that one kiss. It took a moment for me to realizing what was happening, but as soon as I did I tried to push him off. “Bill stop, what are you—mpfh!” He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from his chest, his lips suddenly back on mine as he prevented me from pushing him away again. I still tried to struggle, but something about the way he kissed me, something about all of the desperation behind it just made me stop. It made me want him like he wanted me. My eyes began to close again; why did he have to do this to me? Why did he have to make me feel this way? He pulled back slowly, his eyes once again meeting with mine. His gaze was longing, filled with desire and something else I still couldn’t place. “Why are you doing this to me…?” I whispered, not really having realized I’d said it until it was too late. “Because I—”

“Hey Dipper, are you—?” The door opened, our faces panicked as we looked over. There stood Ford, his mouth agape as he trailed off and gawked at us. His hands almost instantly darted up to cover his wide eyes as he stumbled backwards, “O-oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you weren’t alone…! Uhm…Stan’s back, he wanted to talk to you. I-I’ll just go!” He practically slammed the door, the sound of his footsteps stomping hurriedly down the stairs. We both just stayed like that, staring at the door in shock. Our eyes moved back to each other a moment later, each of us looking at the other blankly; then we both just burst into laughter. He moved off, rolling onto the floor next to me as our laughs died down into soft giggles and snickers. Geeze, he really was right, wasn’t he? My family was the worst with interruptions.

We both just lay there, right next to each other on the floor. My eyes were on the ceiling, but I could easily tell that his were on me. I wasn’t sure why, but I could always just feel it, as if it was something I’d grown accustomed to. The room once again grew quiet aside from our breathing, so I finally decided to look over; just as I’d guessed, our eyes met immediately, confirming my suspicions. He was giving me a strange look, something hiding in those gold and yellow eyes that I just couldn’t figure out no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason it made my heart skip a beat. Or several.

I suddenly remembered that he was about to say something before Ford came in, and it seemed like it was important, whatever it was. I wanted to ask him, but he cut me off before I even got the chance to get the words out. “You should probably go check and see what Stan wants. That or risk Fordsy coming up here again.” He grinned and crossed his hands behind his head, propping up one of his knees as his gaze turned back to the ceiling. He was probably right; we needed to keep Ford away as much as possible, and we’d just gotten lucky that he covered his eyes before really getting a good look at Bill. But…why was I so worried about him finding out? I still wasn’t ready to think about the answer.


	14. Wanna Play a Game?

I stood up and made my way over to the door, my mind wandering as I thought. It felt like I was afraid. But was I afraid of Bill? Afraid of what he would do if my family found him out? No, that wasn’t it. Maybe I was afraid that if Ford found out the truth, Bill would have to leave for sure. He would have to leave me. My hand stopped on the door handle as this thought came into mind. Was that it? “Hurry up my little Pine Tree~” I glanced at Bill over my shoulder, his focus once again on me as he flashed a smug grin. No. Never. There was no way that could be it. He chuckled, giving me a wink as I finally opened the door, “Don’t worry…I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.” I could feel my cheeks heating up, so I quickly rushed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind me. Why did such simple statements make me feel so anxious, so flustered, and all because they were coming from him? No. There was no way in hell that I’d admit it. How could I possibly want to keep this stupid, egotistical jerk around? Impossible.

I made my way downstairs, having to look around a bit before I finally found Stan in the back hallway. “Hey Grunkle Stan, Ford said that you wanted to talk to me about something?” He turned to face me, his eyes cautiously looking left and right before he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me into one of the rooms. He shut the door behind him as he followed me in, a slightly urgent expression on his face. “Look kid, you gotta be more careful.” I gave him a look as I tilted my head, obviously not understanding what he was trying to say, “What do you mean? Careful about what?” His voice then became very hushed as he leaned in, and it was clear by the look in his eyes that he was being serious. “About Bill.” Oh no…not again. “What…w-what do you mean?” I tried my best to keep my composure and play it off, but my voice came out more distressed than intended. He sighed and shook his head, “Dipper, I’m not an idiot. I know that it’s Bill.” No no no no, this couldn’t be happening! How did he figure it out!? “Listen Grunkle Stan,” I started, my words covered in a thick layer of desperation, “He’s not gonna hurt anyone, I swear, he’s just—!”

“No kid, that’s not what I’m trying to tell you. I’m saying you have to be careful around _Ford_. If he finds out, you know it’s gonna be absolute hell,” I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Was he…actually trying to help me? “Wait,” I put up my hands to stop him, now even more confused than I was to begin with, “I don’t understand. Are you saying that you’re not gonna tell Ford?” He chuckled and shook his head, putting one of his hands on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down, “No, of course I’m not telling Ford.” My eyes went wide as I stared at him in disbelief, “I-I…I don’t understand, why aren’t you—?”

“I’ve known that it was Bill the whole time, but I figured you had your reasons, so I just didn’t wanna get involved. But then Mabel explained everything to me.” He gave me a look as he said the last part, and I could practically feel my face turning red. God dammit, Mabel! “What do you mean she _told you everything_?” I didn’t really want to know the answer. Actually, I didn’t really need to; I already had a pretty good idea of what he meant. He laughed as he shook his head again, “Come on kid, I don’t think I need to spell it out for ya. Either way, if he wants to stick around then make sure he stays clear or Ford. I’ll try to help as best I can, but there’s only so much I can do.” I nodded and looked off to the side in slight embarrassment, “We’ve been trying, but he just kinda…walked in this time.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, but I couldn’t help but glare and smack him when he started laughing, “H-hey, it’s not funny! Anyways, there’s nothing _going on_ between Bill and I, okay? He’s just here to be a pain in my ass.” I grumbled and crossed my arms, staring off in annoyance at nothing in particular. “Oh, well then how about I just go tell Ford then and get him out of your hair?”

“No!” I shouted a bit too loudly and a bit too quickly, my face only growing hotter when I realized how defensive I must have seemed. “Wow kid, you’ve got it bad,” He started laughing again as he patted me lightly on the shoulder, “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than you are me.” Was he…right? No. No! “W-whatever! Telling Ford would just make things more difficult, that’s all!” With that I turned and opened the door before stomping out, huffing in frustration as I made my way back through the house. “I’m just sayin!” He called after me, once again falling into a fit of laughter. I groaned. What was it with my family and ganging up on me? First Mabel, now Stan…oh well, at least I knew that Ford would always be on my side. Too bad Ford couldn’t find out about it.

“Oh uhm…hey Dipper.” Speak of the devil. I stopped and took a step back, nearly having run into him. That’s when I noticed he was avoiding my eyes, an awkward smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry again about walking in like that. I really had no idea he was in there with you.” I shifted uncomfortably in my spot, the feeling of embarrassment back once again, “I swear it wasn’t what it looked like! We just…fell.” Wow. Good job Dipper. A++ for you. I mentally slapped myself at how terrible the lie sounded, even to me. I knew that he noticed it too, but it looked like he was playing it off to try and spare me even more mortification, “Oh I believe you! Still, I shouldn’t have just barged in like that, so I apologize.” His eyes trailed past me at that, seemingly exchanging looks with someone, “But uhm, Stan and I were thinking of going out for the night, so we probably won’t be back until sometime tomorrow. And I’m pretty sure Mabel’s staying with Candy, so looks like you two will have the house to yourselves for the night.” He looked back to me and gave me a soft, yet hinting smile. It took me a moment to realize what he was trying to say, but by the time I went to protest, Stan had come over and was already dragging him towards the front door. “You kids have fun!” He called out, followed by a, “And be safe!” From Ford.

I groaned and slapped my hand to my face; this was going to be interesting. The last thing I wanted was to be alone _all night_ with Bill. Right? Of course right! But then…why did I feel this weird excitement as I climbed the steps to my room? Was I actually looking forward to being alone with him? No, there was no way! I mean, he already tried to make advances at me when my family was home, who _knows_ what he’d try to do with them gone. Maybe I just wouldn’t tell him, make him think that Ford was still home…“Oh I don’t think so Pine Tree,” I opened the door to my room, and low-and-behold _right_ on the other side of it was Bill; he stood there, leaning against the door frame with a daring smirk on his face, “You really think you can lie to me?” I gulped. This was going to be a long night. “Look Bill,” I started, averting my gaze and trying my best to sound stern, “Just because everyone’s gone for the night doesn’t mean—”

“Doesn’t mean what?” His hand made its way under my chin, tilting my head up so that my gaze met directly with his. I immediately pulled back, pushing him slightly in the process to get some distance between us, “That anything’s gonna happen between us!” His stared at me blankly, his hand still hanging in the air where he’d touched me. Then he started laughing, and I couldn’t help but clench my fists; what the hell did he think was so funny?! “Oh you’re so cute, Pine Tree,” He chuckled, ruffling my hair lightly as he walked past me. I felt my face heat up as I glared daggers at the back of his head; god, he really pissed me of sometimes!

I found myself following him down the stairs regardless of my agitation. He made his way into the living room, falling back onto the couch with a loud sigh. I simply stood in the doorway, watching him cautiously as he looked over and patted the spot beside him. My mind wandered back to the last time he’d done that…well, more so on what had happened next. I crossed my arms and stood my ground as I eyed him suspiciously. He chuckled in response, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, “What? Don’t you trust me?” His voice was full of sarcasm and it was clear that he already knew the answer, but I scoffed and rolled my eyes anyways. “You’re kidding, right?” He shrugged, his eyes trailing over to something in the next room that I couldn’t quite see. He turned his attention back to me a moment later, and I realized that whatever it was couldn’t have been good. He flashed me his signature grin, a mischievous and dangerous look in his eyes. “Wanna play a game?”

Before I even had the chance to respond he was up and in the next room, returning a minute later with what seemed to be a deck of cards. “Uhm…you wanna play a card game?” I gave him a look of both confusion and distrust, watching curiously as he sat back on the couch and began to shuffle the deck. “Yeah, why not? Come on, it’ll be fun.” Something about this seemed…risky. Like he had some other motive, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out what it was. Yet, for some odd reason, I still found myself sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. I just stared at him warily, going back and forth in my mind about whether or not this was a good idea. “Eh, what the hell,” I eventually decided, figuring that it couldn’t really do any harm. It might actually end up being fun, who knows? Besides, at least this would keep him entertained. “Okay fine,” I sighed and crossed my arms, watching as he continued to shuffle the cards as if he were a professional dealer at a casino, “What game do you wanna play?”

“You know Texas Hold ‘Em?” I nodded, having learned pretty much all variations of poker over the years from Grunkle Stan. Ford never really approved of gambling, but I had a good feeling that all of those games were about to pay off. “We don’t have anything to bet, though?” He shrugged and gave me an innocent smile, “We’ll just play for fun.” Something told me not to trust him, but I just brushed it off; if he wanted to play without betting then who was I to argue with him? I smirked slightly to myself and cracked my knuckles, feeling really confident that I could beat him either way. Then a thought suddenly occurred to me as he dealt the cards. “No cheating, Bill.” He stopped, giving me an interested look as he chuckling again, “Okay Pine Tree, whatever you say.”  


We played several games; I won every single one. He actually seemed to be getting pretty annoyed, and that only boosted my confidence more. Who knew that an all-powerful demon could suck so much at something as simple as a card game? Maybe he wasn’t so powerful, after all. I grinned smugly at yet another victory, watching as a look of defeat made its way onto his face. “Geeze Pine Tree, you’re really good at this.” I crossed my arms triumphantly as he began to gather up the cards. “Hey, what do ya say we make this more interesting, hm?” He spoke up as he started shuffling once again, and I had to admit that I was kind of intrigued. I mean, I had beaten him four games in a row, so the odds seemed to be in my favor. “Okay,” I shrugged, deciding that I wasn’t in any real danger and figuring it would make things more fun anyways, “What did you have in mind?” He seemed to go into thought at this, his finger on his lips as he made a soft humming sound, “How about something simple…loser has to do what the winner wants?”

This was definitely a bad idea. “And what would you want?” I eyed him suspiciously, my mind running over all of the possibilities of things he could want in return; none of them seemed good for me. “Oh nothing really,” He leaned back in his spot on the couch, and I could have sworn his eyes flashed blue for a second before he looked at me, “Just a little spell I wanted to try out.” Okay, that _definitely_ didn’t sound good. “I don’t know…” I trailed off, trying to figure out what my best course of action was. It was true that I’d beaten him every time so far, and I was pretty confident that I could do it again, but…was the risk really worth it? My pride told me it was, regardless of what my better judgement said. “Deal.” A strange feeling came over me, one that told me I’d just made a very terrible mistake. “That’s my little Pine Tree,” he leaned forward, his eyes growing dark as he gave me a toothy grin. “Always ready to make a deal.”


	15. Telling the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys! Really hope you're all still enjoying the story :) I wanted to say thanks again for all of the awesome comments, it always makes me so happy to read them and see what you guys think! I also just wanted to let you all know that I'm going away for the weekend, so I likely won't be able to post a new chapter until Monday. I'll try to post if I can, but if not, definitely keep your eyes peeled Monday night for chapter 16! Anyways, I hope you're all having great days/nights, and I hope you all like the new chapter :D  
> ~SLATS

He completely destroyed me. There was no nice, sugar-coated way of putting it; I got obliterated. End of story. I should have known better, to be honest. I should have known, but my vanity blinded me from realizing I was being hustled. Now it was too late. He’d won, and from the look he was giving me, he knew he was going to win. He knew _the whole time_. God I could be so stupid sometimes. “Well well well,” He said slowly, once again leaning forward as he clasped his hands and leered down at me, “Looks like I won.” I gulped, subconsciously wringing my hands in my lap as I mentally slapped myself. I couldn’t _believe_ I’d fallen right into his trap! That’s what I get for being so gullible. This obviously wasn’t the first time that he’d tricked me, but I was way too worried at that moment to actually be pissed. Maybe I should have asked what the spell actually does before hand? Well, too late now. He stood up from his seat and began to make his way around the coffee table, making sure to move deliberately and agonizingly slow. He finally stopped next to me, staring down at me with a smirk and a dangerous look in his eyes. I let out a deep breath as I looked up at him, refusing to move from my spot on the floor. What did I get myself into?

“So Pine Tree?” When he realized I wasn’t getting up he resolved to kneel on the floor next to me, instead, “A deals a deal, right?” As much as I wanted to argue and try to find some way out of this, I knew there was no use. Besides, he was right; just because he didn’t keep his deals didn’t mean he was going to let me get out of mine. I sighed and nodded my head reluctantly, really wishing that I’d thought this through more. Pride was also a very dangerous thing.

“What are you gonna do to me? Turn my flesh inside out? Replace my fingers with venomous snakes? Make me your slave?” He rolled his eyes and put up his hands defensively, “Geeze kid, you must think I’m terrible or something! I mean that last one doesn’t sound bad, but why is it you always think I’m gonna do some horrific thing to you?” I shrugged, “Isn’t that, well…kind of your thing?” He laughed as he sat down next to me, crossing his legs and shaking his head, “I do admit that sometimes I can get a little carried away, but I wouldn’t do anything like that to you.” As much as I hated to admit it, it felt nice to hear him say that. Endearing, even.

 Wait. What the hell was I talking about, of course it wasn’t endearing! I glared and crossed my arms as I eyed him suspiciously, “Okay, then what _are_ you going to do to me?” I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to know the answer. “Oh nothing major, just a simple little spell I know that’ll make things more…interesting.” I _really_ didn’t like the sound of this. Why did he always have to be so ambiguous? It just made everything he said sound 10x more sketchy. “Don’t worry Pine Tree,” He brought his hand up, a soft smirk on his face as his eyes began to glow with a bright, fiery blue, “This won’t hurt at all, I promise.” His hand made its way to my cheek, my vision being overtaken by a bright blue light as soon as it met with my skin.

An ice cold chill shot down my entire body, my head feeling extremely fuzzy for a moment, and then everything was back to normal. I blinked rapidly as my sight returned to me, looking at him in confusion as the flames left his eyes, “What…what did you do?” He shrugged and grinned at me, “Wouldn’t be any fun if I told you. But enough about that for now, how about we watch a movie or something?” I really wanted to press him further to figure out what exactly he’d done, but something told me he just wasn’t going to tell me. Besides, I didn’t _feel_ any different. I looked down at my hands in my lap; nope, no snakes, no inside-out flesh. But this _was_ Bill Cipher we were talking about, so I knew that he had to have done _something_. Guess I’d figure it out sooner or later. Plus, a movie did sound nice.

 Before I could even say anything he simply got up and left the room, leaving me to sit there and wonder what the hell he’d done to me. I got up and moved around the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch as I waited. I could hear him moving around in the next room, and at one point I could even hear him going up and down the stairs, but it took him several minutes before he finally returned. When he did I could feel my face heat up, my heart skipping a beat as I looked at him; in his arms he had the comforter from my bed, a bowl of popcorn and two mugs with steam rising out of them. Did he really…?

“This is how you like to watch movies, right?” He smiled as he handed me the blanket, setting the cups and the popcorn down on the coffee table. I looked down and nodded timidly, a light blush making its way onto my cheeks; he really did know a lot about me, didn’t he?

He made his way over to the TV, kneeling down and putting something into the DVD player before coming back over and taking a seat next to me. Without saying anything he hooked his arm under my knees, lightly pulling them up and moving me so that I was practically in his lap, my back against the arm of the couch and my legs laying over his. His arm then wrapped around me, pulling me close and making me blush even more as he draped the comforter over us. He grabbed the popcorn and set it on my lap before handing me one of the mugs, taking the other for himself. The sweet, rich smell and the sight of mini marshmallows told me that it was hot chocolate. I smiled to myself; the warmth of the mug felt really nice between my hands. It made me feel calm. I looked over in curiosity as the title screen of the movie came up, wondering what he’d decided to put it. My eyes widened slightly as I saw the title: it was Insidious Chapter 2. “How did you—?”

“Horror movies are your favorite, aren’t they?” I stopped and simply looked at him, a sweet smile on his face. I was glad that he’d shut the blinds, because the room was now too dark to see the very evident pink tint that was likely covering my face. “Y-yeah…” I said softly as I let my eyes trail back down to the drink in my hands, listening as he started up the movie. His arm tighten around me a bit, and I barely even noticed as my head came to rest on his shoulder. It grew silent at that, both of us becoming focused on the movie. Well, maybe not both of us…I tried my best to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering back to how good it felt to be there, together with him. Why did this feel so nice? Why was he acting so sweetly towards me? I remembered back to when I’d been watching Insidious alone, and how I’d thought about what it would be like for us to watch a movie together. This was almost exactly how I’d imagined it. I knew that I should have been fighting; I should have told him no, pulled away from him, did _something_ to let him know that I wasn’t interested, but…for some reason, I just couldn’t.

“This is what you wanted, right?” He whispered softly into my ear, my heart beating loudly as I gripped the cup in my hands. No. Tell him no. Tell him to stop, tell him this isn’t what you want! “Y-yeah…” It took me a moment to even realize what I’d said, and my face went beat red as soon as I did. Why did I do that!? That’s not at all what I wanted to say! I heard him chuckle quietly as he rest his head on top of mine, wrapping his other arm around me and pulling me close, “Good.” I turned my head to look at him, no longer paying any attention to the movie on the screen. His eyes were soft and enticing as they met with mine, a small smirk playing on his lips and a look that gave me pause. Why…why did he always have to look at me like that? Why did he always have to make my heart beat so fast? I couldn’t let him do this…I couldn’t let him pull me in…

I quickly turned my gaze to the floor. I didn’t know why, but I just couldn’t look at him. Maybe it was because I was afraid; afraid that if I looked into those eyes for too long, I wouldn’t be able to stop him. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I’d fall right into his trap…why did I have to be so weak?

“Dipper?” The sound of my name brought me back to reality, my eyes once again meeting with his before I even had the chance to stop myself. His hand moved up to rest affectionately on the spot between my cheek and chin, lightly holding my face in place so that I couldn’t look away. “Tell me what you want.” What? What was he—?

“I-I…I want you to kiss me…” What? WHAT? Was that…was that my voice?? Did I just…? I couldn’t see, but I could feel that my face was beat red. Why the hell would I have said that!? A soft chuckling snapped me out of my frantic, jumbled thoughts, once again bringing my mind back to the beautifully golden and yellow eyes in front of me. That’s when I noticed that he was smiling. Not his normal smirk or grin, but an actual, genuine smile. It made me feel as though my heart had completely stopped. It was soft and caring, and for a moment I thought that maybe I was seeing things; but no, he was actually _smiling_ at me. “You know,” He started, his voice sweet as he looked at me with alluring eyes, “You don’t have to keep fighting this, Dipper.” I let out a shaky breath, my mind going blank as he said those words. “You don’t have to keep fighting me.”

 The way that he said my name…the way his hands felt against my skin…I just couldn’t take this anymore. I felt him slowly begin to pull me forward, but this time, I didn’t stop him. I didn’t push him away, I didn’t tell him no. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I could feel his breath, hot against my lips, and it seemed as though my hands were moving on instinct as I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. I let my eyes fall closed; everything around us seemed to be moving in slow motion, as if time itself was coming to a stop. And then his lips were on mine. They were soft, surprisingly soft…why hadn’t I noticed that before? I soon found that I was kissing back, my fingers tangled in his hair as I pressed my body to his. I shivered as he pushed up the fabric of my shirt a bit, trailing his fingers along my side with his free hand. I parted my lips, and he quickly took the hint; he tasted sweet, almost like honey, and I couldn’t help but moan softly into the kiss as his tongue slid against mine. It was soft and sweet, something I wouldn’t have expected from him, yet...somehow, it felt familiar.

I knew that it should have felt wrong, but it didn’t. I knew that I should have pulled away, but I just couldn’t. The feeling of his soft hair in my hands, his fingers brushing against sensitive skin, the faint smell of chocolate and salt in the air…it was all just so intoxicating. I hadn’t even noticed that I’d moved, my legs on either side of his as I straddled his lap. That was, until the blanket began to slide off of my shoulders, the cold air of the room hitting my skin and making me shiver. I pulled back a bit, my arms still hanging over his shoulders and his hand lightly touching my cheek as our half-lidded eyes met. He was gazing into mine deeply, longingly. He didn’t look smug or triumphant, he just looked…human. But he was very far from it. What was I doing? This was Bill Cipher I was with, the same Bill that destroyed the town, that tried to take over the world. We were supposed to hate each other. We were supposed to be enemies.

“Stop,” His voice was quiet, desperate, his other hand coming up to rest on my cheek as well. His lips met with mine a second later, both hands holding my face so that I couldn’t pull back, even if I’d wanted to.

Before I could understand what was happening he lifted me up, not breaking the kiss even for a moment as he had me wrap my legs around his waist. Next thing I knew we were in my room, the door closing behind us as he walked over to lay me on the bed. “Bill, w-why—?” My question was cut off by another kiss as he crawled onto the bed and pressed his body down against mine. Then his lips were on my cheek, my chin, my neck, my collarbone…why did this feel so good? Why did _he_ feel so good? My mind suddenly flashed back to the spell, and I wondered if maybe that had something to do with it. “What…what did you do to me…?” I asked between pants, my breath growing short and heavy as my body began to heat up. He pulled back to look at me, a mix between as soft smile and a smirk on his face that told me he knew exactly what I was referring to. What I didn’t expect was his answer. “I made you tell the truth.”

My eyes went wide, my face going red as I stared at him in shock; was he serious? No, no he was just messing with me, that spell _had_ to have done something! It had to be making me say things I didn’t actually mean. This was just his way of making it so that I couldn’t fight back, that was the only explanation…right?

“Sorry Pine Tree, but I’m not lying,” he leaned down, his voice turning sultry as his lips came mere centimeters from mine, “And now you can’t hide from me anymore.” I didn’t stop him as his hand cupped my chin, his lips meeting with mine and parting them slightly so that his tongue could slip between them. I didn’t stop him as his hands slid up under my shirt, pushing up the fabric as his fingers roamed over my skin. And I didn’t stop him as my clothes were removed piece by piece, each tossed haphazardly across the room as I was left in only my boxers. Why…why didn’t I stop him?

He leaned back to admire his handiwork, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions as they trailed all over my newly exposed skin: lust, desperation, care, longing, sadness, excitement. He slowly reached out his hands as he gazed at me, letting out a shaky breath as he pressed them lightly against my stomach and ran them up my chest, as if he was afraid he was going to break me. “It’s been too long…” He moved forward again, his breath sending a chill down my body as he whispered into my ear, “I’m never letting you go again.”

The way that he said those words…I didn’t understand what he meant, but it was as if a switch flicked on inside of me. Next thing I knew I was on his lap, straddling him as he stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. He was clearly taken aback by the sudden change, and I had to admit that I was, too; I hadn’t even realized that I’d done it until I found myself sitting there, not really knowing what to do next as my hands clutched at the fabric of his shirt. I was so confused, all of these feelings that I couldn’t understand suddenly swirling around in the pit of my stomach. I was frustrated and scared. Apprehensive. Impatient. And yet…

“Dipper,” I was brought crashing back down to reality, my turmoil interrupted by the gold and yellow eyes that were staring attentively into mine. “Tell me what you want.” His voice was soft and seductive, and it was clear to me that he already knew what I wanted, even before I did. And that’s when I realized it. I couldn’t fight this anymore.

“I-I…I want you…”


	16. Give In to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT! But that's probably what you've all been waiting for, am I right?  
> You have been warned! This is the first time I've written any smut in a while, but I hope it was worth the wait! Also, just a little author's note, while writing this part I imagined the song "Close" by Nick Jonas and Tove Lo going along with it, and that's also what I listened to while writing! Anyway's I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> ~SLATS

I wanted him. I couldn’t deny it anymore.

His clothes were off in a matter of seconds, leaving both of us exposed to the steadily rising temperature of the room. His hands were once again all over me as they roamed over the spots that were most sensitive, as if he already knew where they were. I gasped as he began sucking and nipping at the nape of my neck; why did such little touches from him drive me so crazy? His hand slowly trailed down, and as his fingers hooked under the hem of my boxers, I suddenly began to feel very nervous. I could feel my face heating up as I grabbed his wrist lightly to stop him, “Bill, I-I don’t know if…m-maybe we shouldn’t be…” I couldn’t find the right words to say as he pulled back slightly, the look in his eyes making the breath catch in my throat. My grip loosened as he slowly continued to slide his hand under the fabric, his eyes locked deeply with mine as his fingers brushed lightly along my very evident erection, before curling around the tender flesh.

“A-ah…!” I let out a broken moan as he began to pump me slowly, my body arching up into his touch. His other hand roamed over my body, touching any and every piece of exposed skin in his reach. It was as if he knew my body more than I did, as if it were a map he’d spent countless hours looking over and studying. How did he know just the right places to touch, the places that made my mind go blank and my heart race?

My thoughts were brought to a halt as he started trailing light kisses down my chest, pulling his hand out from under the fabric and making me whimper at the loss of contact. He stopped, his fingers pushing under the elastic as his eyes once again met with mine. The look he gave me…those lust filled eyes, that seductive smirk, all managing to make my body tense up as I gazed down at him. His tongue flicked out, warm and wet as it slid across my lower stomach and made my hips buck on instinct.

He chuckled at this, and before I even had the chance to respond he yanked my boxers down and tossed them aside, his eyes not leaving me for even a second. My face went red and I immediately looked to the side, gasping as a rush of cold air hit my now evident erection. “Bill, I—nnh…” My words completely left me at the feeling of his tongue running slowly up my length. I dug my nails into the sheets beneath me as he swirled it over the tip, having to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from making any more noise. That didn’t last long, however, one of his hands reaching up to pull it away, “Don’t hide your voice from me Dipper…I need to hear you…” I threw my head back, a loud moan escaping my lips as his mouth suddenly engulfed me whole. One of my hands darted down to grasp soft, blonde locks, my breath coming out in shallow gasps as he began to bob his head. _God_ it felt so good, he felt so good…

He quickened his pace, licking and sucking lightly, his head bouncing up and down and making my body twitch and writhe beneath him. I could feel my stomach tighten as I came closer and closer to release. I was so close…so close…and then it all stopped. He pulled back, my eyes shooting open and a shiver going down my spine as I was once again surrounded by cold air. He moved back up, hovering over me as he gazed down with soft, caring eyes.

“Dipper,” His voice was low and husky, one of his hands coming to rest on my cheek as he looked deeply into my eyes, “I want to make love to you.” All the words I wanted to say seemed to catch in my throat, those beautiful eyes capturing me and refusing to let go. I wanted him. I wanted him so badly, wanted to feel his body against mine, feel him inside me, filling me completely…I’d never wanted anyone like this. But I knew that I wanted him; no, I _needed_ him. I wanted to tell him how I felt, but as I opened my mouth, I realized I couldn’t speak. I didn’t need to. He smiled sweetly, reaching over to my nightstand and pulling a small bottle from the drawer; part of me wanted to ask how he knew it was there, but then I remembered that the answer was pretty obvious. He’d seen everything that I’d seen over the past six years.

I watched as he coated his fingers with the slick substance, and I couldn’t help but fidget as a feeling of nervousness began to creep up my body. He seemed to notice this as he set the bottle back in the drawer, giving me a concerned look before planting a soft kiss on my lips. “We can stop if you want, Dipper.” Hearing my name on his lips always sounded so different, and I could swear my temperature would rise every time he said it. Please, please don’t stop…I need you. I need you so badly. That was all I could think about, but as those lidded, lust filled eyes stared down into mine, all I could do was shake my head in response and hope he understood.

Of course, he did. He let out a shaky breath as he moved to plant light kisses on my neck, and that’s when I remembered that he could still hear everything I was thinking. His now wet fingers trailed slowly down my chest, making me shiver; his other hand found its way under my knee, pushing up slightly to indicate he wanted me to move it. I obliged and propped it up, and it was at that moment that I realized just how vulnerable I was. A strange mix of embarrassment, fear, and excitement made its way into my stomach as I wondered what the view must be like for him. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” He whispered lowly into my ear, my face going red as one of his fingers pressed against my entrance. “Ready?” I nodded, my body fidgeting as the digit began to push inside me.

It didn’t hurt, it just felt strange. Strange and…familiar? Like I’d done this before, but…I’d never done anything like this, at least not with anyone but myself. My thoughts came to a halt as another finger was added, and this time I couldn’t help but hiss slightly through my teeth as I tensed around it. “Shhhh…” He whispered softly into my ear, his other hand moving to stroke me again, “I promise it won’t hurt for long, but you have to try and relax…” I gulped and nodded, my hands shakily moving up to grasp onto his shoulders as his fingers began to slide in and out. The pain started to die down, gradually being replaced but an odd pleasure; that was, until he added a third finger. I dug my nails into his skin as I let out a whimper-like noise, regardless of my attempts to suppress it. He left a soft kiss under my ear as his other hand quickened its pace, my body torn between the pleasure and the pain as I arched up into his touch. I could feel his fingers moving inside of me, thrusting and stretching the tight hole as the pain once again started to subside.

“B-Bill…please…” I breathed out, my breath coming out in short, heavy pants as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body up against his. He felt so hot, like his body was on fire, and I wondered if he was feeling as nervous as I was.

I watched as he reached back over to the side of the bed, grabbing the bottle again and pouring some of the clear liquid into his hand. My eyes trailed down, my breath hitching in my throat as he began to rub the substance along his length. He was going so slow, deliberately slow, and I couldn’t help but bite my lip as he let out a low groan.

“Like what you see, _my little Pine Tree~?_ ” I could feel my face heat up, and I immediately looked away at the realization that he was watching me. He chuckled softly as he hooked his arms under my knees, spreading and lifting my legs to gain access, “Because I know I do.” My face flushed, but right as I was about to yell at him I could feel his head at my entrance, and the words came out as a jumbled mess.

“You’re so cute,” He smiled and leaned down, his lips meeting mine as he kissed me passionately. He slowly started to push inside me, and I couldn’t help but break the kiss as I cried out. I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes from the pain, and I wrapped my arms more tightly around his neck as I clung to him desperately, “It…i-it hurts…!!”

One of his hands suddenly moved, replacing itself a moment later on my lower stomach. I could start to feel a strange tingling sensation where he touched the skin, and then…the pain stopped? I glanced down, but I immediately wished I hadn’t. His hand was glowing blue, yeah, but that’s not why my eyes fixated on…I watched as he finished moving, having completely buried his cock inside of me. I let out a shaky breath as I looked back up at him, his eyes closed and a look of pleasure on his face that almost sent me over the edge right then and there. He opened his eyes a moment later and gazed down at me, his hand going back to support my leg.

The feeling slowly began to return, including the pain, but it wasn’t nearly as bad. That, and a new feeling came to me…the feeling of being connected. The feeling of being one with him. His lips were on mine again in a matter of seconds, a small moan escaping as his tongue slid against mine. I winced, my nails once again digging into his back as he started pulling out, only to slowly push back in a moment later. He started off at a slow pace, but that didn’t stop my body from feeling as if it were on fire, a burning pain shooting up my spine each time he moved. He deepened the kiss in an attempt to take my mind off of the pain, and as his tongue moved with mine, it seemed to be working. The pain dulled down, beginning to replace itself with that same strange pleasure from before. I found myself moving with him, pushing my hips down into his as his thrusts grew deeper.

“A-aaah…!” I cried out as he moved in just the right way, a jolt shooting up my body and making my hips buck. “Fuck…D-Dipper…” His voice was like silk as he moaned softly into my ear, his pace quickening as he aimed for that spot again. He hit it over and over, not missing even once as he ravaged my body and made my loud, uncontrolled moans and cries of pleasure fill the room.

“B-Bill…!” I couldn’t help as his name slipped past my lips, my fingers tangling in his hair as I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist. He kissed me feverishly; it was hot and wet and sloppy, no longer controlled as he rolled his hips sensually up into mine. His hands moved down to grip my waist, nails digging in ever so slightly as he pulled back from the kiss to gaze down at me. God, the look in his eyes…they were filled with so much pleasure, so much emotion.

His mouth was parted slightly, small moans escaping his lips and pieces of hair clinging to his forehead. And the way he looked at me, the way those eyes looked down into mine…I never wanted him to look at anybody else like that. I wanted to be like this forever with him. I wanted to be _with_ _him_ forever. His breath was hot against my lips, coming out in the same short, heavy gasps as mine; one of his hands darted up to grab onto the headboard for support as he thrust into me wildly, our moans mixing together as he pressed his forehead down against mine.

I knew that I couldn’t hold on much longer, my lower stomach beginning to tighten and fill with that warm, tingling feeling. From the sounds of his heated, breathy moans, I knew that he couldn’t either. “B-Bill…I-I can’t—!”

“Dipper…” My eyes met with his as I opened them again, his voice coming out in a hot, pleasured groan, “Come for me…” His words sent me flying over the edge, my back arching and my toes curling and my head thrown back as I cried out his name over and over again. I could feel him finish inside me, hear him calling out my name…my vision was overtaken by blue light, and suddenly I was hit with flashes of things I didn’t understand. The feeling of my nails on his back, the sound of his voice moaning my name, countless scenes of those gold and yellow eyes as our bodies moved together, as if I were reliving millions of experiences like this one all at once. My mind shut down as all of my senses were overloaded, and my body became taken over with a feeling of complete ecstasy.


	17. My Little Pine Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is so short, it was actually a little snipit that was meant to be a part of the last chapter, but I forgot to add it in. I figured it would be better to just make it it's own chapter instead of editing the last one. Anyways, I also wanted to let you guys know that I'm expecting the next chapter to be pretty long, so it's probably going to take a bit longer to write. Sorry to make you guys wait, but I'll upload as soon as I can, so stay tuned!
> 
> ~SLATS

_Bill’s P.O.V._

Dipper. My beautiful, beautiful Pine Tree…he finally gave in to me. It was true that I did sort of cheat, but…I just couldn’t wait any longer. I knew his feelings for me, but I also knew that he wasn’t going to be admitting them any time soon. So I had to take matters into my own hands. I had to. He didn’t remember anything like I did. All of the memories, all of the years swimming around in my thoughts were lost to him. They always were. He never remembered, and I was stuck with the painful reminders of what used to be. And to think, for once I’d almost forgotten, too. Well, I guess technically I _did_ forget, but that didn’t last long. Even in this lifetime I’d felt it, tugging at me from the moment I saw him. Part of me didn’t want to remember, but the moment I jumped into his mind all those years ago was the moment I was doomed.

I collapsed back onto the bed, my chest heaving as I tried to bring my breathing back to normal. How could I have let myself forget for so long? There was no way I was going to let that happen again. I glanced to the side, my gaze meeting with tousled brown hair and glistening skin. God, he was so beautiful, so perfect. I turned on my side to face him, and that’s when I noticed it; his eyes were lidded, glazed and glowing blue in the otherwise dark room. They were unfocused as he stared off, and it was clear that he wasn’t entirely there. Did I do that?

“Dipper?” I turned him towards me, reaching up my hand and resting it on his cheek as I gave him a concerned look, “Can you hear me?” No response. “Whoops.” I couldn’t help but smile…looks like I got a little carried away there. I knew that I hadn’t hurt him or anything, and he would be back to normal come morning, but I had to try and be more careful around him. He didn’t remember things like I did, and forcing all of those memories onto him at once wasn’t good, even if it was an accident. I knew that he’d probably have lots of questions when he woke up, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

I sighed as I brushed a few loose strands of hair from his face, wrapping my arm around him and pulling him close to me. I missed him…I missed him so much. His head moved to rest under my chin, and I took the opportunity to plant a soft kiss in his hair. I brought up my hand, fingers tangling in his soft brown locks as the other lay draped over his waist. A shiver from him reminded me that we were both still exposed to the night air; I glanced down, noticing that I’d dropped the comforter in a heap at the foot of the bed. A swift flick of the wrist brought it up to cover us, and I tucked it around him as best I could to keep him from getting cold. I then ran my fingers slowly through his hair, pressing my lips against his forehead and closing my eyes. “Pine Tree?” I glanced down and watched as his eyes began to close, his breathing slowing and becoming deeper as he started drifting to sleep. As I watched that peaceful face, his chest swaying ever so slightly as his quiet breath filled the room, I was reminded of something very important. I wanted to be like this with him forever, and there was no way I was ever going to let him go again. I feared that I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I did.

“Dipper,” I let my hand trail down, beginning to rub small, soft circles on his lower back as I pressed my forehead to his, pulling him closer to me. I knew that he couldn’t hear me, but there was something I just had to say. I needed to. I needed to let him know the one thing that had always been true, since the beginning of time itself. The one thing that never changed, no matter how many lifetimes we spent together. The one thing that never would.

“…I love you…”


	18. A Thousand Lifetimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys! So as I was writing I realized I had a pretty good stopping point to make another chapter, so looks like you guys get a bit of a preview of what's to come! It's another short one, but as I stated at the beginning of the last chapter, I am expecting the next one to be pretty long because there's going to be a lot squeezed into it, so it's probably going to take me longer to write. This was going to just be a part of it, but as I said I figured I was at a pretty good stopping place to make it it's own chapter. Also, I am giving you guys a heads up now, but the next chapter is going to be pretty intense. Lets just say a walk down memory lane is going to dredge up a lot of stuff, some memories less pleasant than others. Remember those first three tags listed for the story?  
> Anyways, I hope you all decide to stick around for what's likely going to be a wild (and emotional) ride!

_Dipper’s P.O.V._

_“S-stop…!” I heard the sound of my voice, weak and strained as I tried to call out. I couldn’t see anything, but my entire body felt heavy; I tried to get air into my lungs, but for some reason I couldn’t. My neck felt bruised as I cried out, broken gasps and silent pleas slipping past my lips. What was happening…was I dreaming?_

_I was met with a flash of red eyes. They were filled with such rage…why did they look so familiar? And then came a voice, faint and muffled. “Why you?” That voice…was that...? “Why did it have to be you?” Even though his words were slurred, it sounded so much like him, but the tone was foreign. It was hurt, sad, confused, distraught; but more than anything, it sounded angry. Very, very angry. The faint smell of alcohol loomed in the air, and everything felt hazy. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but if there was one thing I knew, it was the feeling of fear. It coursed through my entire being as I struggled against an unseen enemy._

_“Stop, please!” This thought ran through my mind over and over again. “Why are you doing this!? Why…” I was so confused, so scared. I couldn’t control anything that was happening, and the fact that I didn’t even_ know _what was happening made things even worse. It felt like I was choking, like all of the oxygen around me had disappeared. But I couldn’t see what was causing it; everything was black, aside from the occasional blurry flashes of things I couldn’t quite make out. Everything except for those eyes. “Please!” I wanted to cry out, but all I could do was sit back, helpless to stop this horror. “Stop…please stop…please…” My thoughts became more and more incoherent as they began to die down, my body slowly becoming weightless._

_“Please…_  
_Bill…I….lo…ve….yo—”_

“ **DIPPER!** "

 

I bolted up, my hands practically clawing at my neck as I gasped out for air. My heart was beating rapidly, my mind still clouded in fear. The feeling of hands on my shoulders made me fight back on instinct, no longer able to distinguish the sleeping and waking worlds. The fight didn’t last long, however, the hands grabbing my wrists and holding them in place almost immediately.

“Dipper calm down, it’s me!” My vision began to clear up, slowly revealing the face of a very distraught-looking Bill. “It’s me,” He said softly as he let go, my arms falling limply back to my sides as I looked at him. “B-Bill…?” As I gazed into those gold and yellow eyes, it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what I was doing. What was I so freaked out about again? I wasn’t sure, but the look on his face told me it wasn’t good. “What…what happened?”

“You were having a bad dream.” He answered reluctantly, and something about the way he said it told me he was trying to hide something. But the look in those eyes gave me pause…they were filled with sadness, as if whatever had happened had been highly upsetting for him. Something told me not to try and press further. I took to glancing around instead; the comforter was a tangled mess, my skin slightly wet as if I’d woken up in a cold sweat. Wait a second…my skin!

I quickly grabbed all the covers in my reach, pulling them up to cover my body at the realization that I was naked. And I wasn’t the only one. My eyes went wide as they trailed down his exposed chest, stopping when they reached the white fabric draped over his waist. He was sitting crisscross on the bed, and the covers were the only thing keeping his body hidden, as well. “Did we…?” Memories of the previous night came flooding back, and I couldn’t help but glance away as my face began to heat up. God, I was so embarrassed! I couldn’t believe that I…that we…how could I have done that?

“Hey,” His voice was soft, our eyes once again meeting as my attention turned back to him, “You…you regret it, don’t you?”

“No!” I shouted a bit too loudly, my face growing even more red as I reeled back and looked away again, “I-I just…wasn’t expecting this to happen…” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly as I stared off at nothing in particular. As I remembered the sound of his voice, the feeling of our bodies moving together, I knew that I didn’t regret anything. But that very fact was what made things so hard to come to terms with. Because now that he’d succeeded, now that he’d gotten what he wanted, what would happen next? Would he stick around, or…?

“Pine Tree,” I was snapped out of my thoughts, my gaze meeting with soft eyes and a sweet smile, “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s not the first time you’ve said that…” The words came out as more of a murmur, and it took me a minute to even realize that I’d said them. That’s when I noticed that his expression changed to one of shock, his eyes wide as he stared at me. I had to admit, I was kind of shocked too; why did I say that? And that’s when I remembered it: all of the memories that had come flooding to me last night before I fell asleep. I watched as he gulped, giving me a look as if he were a deer caught in headlights. Now it was his turn to look away awkwardly. “Bill, I think it’s time you explained what’s going on to me.” The following sigh told me he knew there was no way out of it this time. “Okay Dipper, you’re right…” He looked back to me, his eyes reluctant as he seemed to go into thought.

“How do I put this?” He sighed again, clearly racking his brain for the right words as he gazed at me intently, “You and I…we’ve known each other for a very long time.” I tilted my head in confusion at this, “Well yeah, we’ve known each other for what, seven years now?” He immediately shook his head, “No, that’s not what I mean, Dipper. We’ve known each other for a _very_ long time. I’m not talking a few years, I’m talking _thousands_ of years.” My eyes once again grew wide as I stared at him in shock, mouth slightly a gape, “W-wait, I don’t understand…what do you mean _thousands_ of years? Bill, I haven’t even been around that long.” The look he was giving me made me stop; he was dead serious.

“You’ve lived thousands of lifetimes, Dipper. Each time you come back a little bit different, but it’s always you. And I’m always there.” His eyes were sad as he looked down into his lap, and I’d be lying if I said this wasn't a little hard for me to believe. But, for some reason, I just knew he was telling the truth. “You mean…like reincarnation?” He nodded, “Yeah, I guess that’s what you humans call it. Either way, you and I…we’ve been together for as long as I can remember.” I didn’t need to ask what he meant; the memories from last night already gave me the answer.

“But wait,” I started, a question suddenly making its way into my mind, “If you remember all of this, then why did you terrorize me and my family for so long?” He opened his mouth as if he wanted to answer, but no words came out; instead he just stared at me, his eyes distressed and unwilling to continue. I urged him on though, wanting to know and understand as much about this new information as I could. If he really was telling the truth, I had so many questions, and I was determined to get answers.

“Okay...let me start from the beginning.”


	19. Memory Lane (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING! I mentioned this in the last one, but I'll say it again: those first three tags on the story are meant for this chapter and the next one! They include past noncon, abuse, and descriptions of character death! If you are uncomfortable with any of this, please turn back now! Otherwise, read on at your own discretion!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now that the warning's out of the way, I hope you guys are ready for an intense and possibly emotional ride! This entire chapter ended up being about 10 pages on word, so I decided to split it up into two to make for easier reading. Also, to avoid any confusion, this is how the chapter reads: regular text is Bill speaking to Dipper, and is from Dipper's point of view; italicized texts are memories told from Bill's point of view.
> 
> Whelp, there's not much left for me to say, other than I hope you guys are prepared for what's about to come! Because I sure as hell wasn't, and I'm the one who wrote it. Anyways, buckle up and prepare for this roller coaster and/or train wreck!

“In my dimension there is no concept of time, so I can’t really say when it was you first came about. Every once in a while I would scan through your dimension, mainly for entertainment value; one time in particular, however, I happened upon you. I was drawn to you almost instantly. I didn’t know why, but I continued to watch you day in and day out, to the point that it became like an obsession. I tried to do it in secret, like it was a guilty pleasure or something, but…eventually my hench-minions found out. Word spread, and suddenly there were whispers and rumors all throughout my house. I was accused of becoming soft, and I couldn’t have that. So, I did the only thing that made sense: I kidnapped you.

I brought you to my dimension, made you my prisoner. And let me tell you, you absolutely _despised_ me, and not without reason. I treated you pretty badly when others were around, like you were my slave; in my mind I had to make an example of you, prove them wrong so that they wouldn’t question my power. But through all of that, I got this weird feeling whenever I was around you. It was so strong, but completely foreign to me; I’d never experienced anything like it, so I obviously couldn’t figure out what it was. That made me mad.

It was so annoying, so frustrating that this one random human was causing all of these confusing feelings inside of me. I was _Bill fucking Cipher_ for god’s sake; I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and I only ever cared about myself, yet all of that was suddenly crashing down around me. All I wanted was to be close to you, to keep you by my side. But I knew that people were going to start getting suspicious again; they were going to think I was weak, possibly even try to overthrow me. And it was all because of you. All of the confusion, all of the anger, it all came down to you. I didn’t know how to deal with any of it. Then, one night…”

* * *

_The halls were dark, empty. I made my way through them, my footsteps echoing loudly off of the walls. It’d been awhile since I’d taken on a human form; I never really found the need to. But tonight, this was the perfect form for me. It made me more like him._

_I threw open the doors to my chamber, listening to the satisfying ‘thud’ as they hit the walls. What was even more satisfying was the sight of his body jolting, clearly having been caught off guard as his head snapped in my direction. I watched as his eyes landed on me, brow furrowing as he shot me a heated glare. “What do you want, Bill?” He practically spat the words, his voice laced with venom; I couldn’t help but grin. He was always so feisty, so full of fire. He was definitely a fighter. We’d see how long that would last._

_"What are you—hey!” I grabbed him, throwing him down onto the bed before he even got the chance to finish the question. I watched as his eyes grew panicked. Oh, don’t look at me like that. “Bill, what the hell do you think you’re—!?” He let out a muffled gasp as my lips came down onto his. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but damn would I be lying if I said it didn’t feel good. I let my body move on instinct, my hands sliding down his chest before dipping under his shirt. His hands were immediately on me, pushing with all of his strength in an attempt to get me off. “B-Bill stop!” I grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, using a bit of magic to bind them in fiery blue chains._

_When he realized his hands were useless, he resorted to kicking. I couldn’t help but wince and reel back as a knee came into contact with my stomach, only managing to infuriate me further. He took the opportunity to try and scramble off of the bed, but I grabbed him before he was able to. He fell forward onto his knees, his upper body collapsing from lack of balance while his hips stayed hoisted up in the air. I leaned over him, my chest pressing down against his back, and reached forward to grip his chin as I forced his head up. I then pressed my lips to his ear from behind and whispered, my other hand snaking its way to his inner thigh, “You can’t run from me.” The noise that he let out was blissful. He was so sweet, so innocent…god, it was so annoying. He had no idea what he was doing to me, how he was making me feel. I needed to show him. I needed to break him like he was breaking me._

 

* * *

              

“I…I forced myself on you, Dipper. I was so mad, so confused; all of that time spent only caring for myself, only ever thinking about myself, yet suddenly all of my thoughts were on you. I was angry that I felt so attached to you. It made me feel weak, like I was losing control. What I did to you…that was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.

I just left you there when I was finished…even then I couldn’t believe what I’d done. For once in my life I felt guilt, I felt shame. I stayed in my library for the rest of the night, pacing and restless as I thought about what I did. My mind was spinning, all of these emotions rising from the pit of my stomach; and that’s when I realized it. I was in love with you. But…I was too late. The damage had already been done.”

 

* * *

_I felt sick. My stomach churned as I ran through the halls, my body filling with this strange, sinking feeling. Something wasn’t right. I finally made it to the passageway that led to my chambers, my feet suddenly moving much slower as I stepped up to the door. I heard a strange noise as I reached it; I looked down to my feet, my heart nearly stopping as I saw what had produced the sound. There was a puddle of liquid pooling from underneath the door. Red liquid._

_I threw the doors open with as much force as I could and rushed inside, only to stop dead a second later. My body began to shake, my breath hitching in my throat as my eyes met with the scene in front of me: a body was lying in the middle of the floor. His body. I slowly stepped over and dropped to my knees beside him, “D-Dipper…?” My hand was trembling as I brought it to rest on his cheek; his eyes were glazed, staring off into the distance. “N-no…no…” I didn’t need to wonder what had happened; the broken shard of glass clutched loosely in his hand and the blood soaked wrists already gave me the answer. “N-no…this…this is all my fault…! I-I’m so sorry Dipper...I’m so sorry…!” I cradled him in my arms; how could I have let this happen? How could I have done this to him? For the first time in my entire life, I felt tears spill from my eyes._

 

* * *

               

“I hurt you more than I realized…by the time I figured it all out, you were gone. I got pretty messed up after that. I hated myself, hated having to live with the reality of what I did. But the worst part about everything was that you weren’t around anymore…I fell into a pretty deep depression because of it. The one person in the world that I’d ever cared about was gone, and it was all because of me.

I shut myself up in my castle for I don’t even know how long, refused to see anyone. Then one night, completely on a whim, I decided to go and visit your dimension. Back then I pretty much had free roam in my physical form; it was awhile before I lost that ability, but we’ll get to that later. Anyways, I ended up coming to your dimension and just sort of wandering around aimlessly. I wasn’t really sure why I was there, but for some reason I just felt like that was where I needed to be. Next thing I knew I found myself standing outside some pub. Something was compelling me to go inside, as much as I didn’t want to, so eventually I just walked in. And that’s when I saw you.”

 

* * *

               

_I stopped dead, freezing in my place as my eyes met with brown hair and brown eyes. He didn’t notice me from all the way across the room, but I sure noticed him. He looked a bit older than the last time I’d seen him, but there was no doubt it my mind that it was him. But how…how the hell was this possible? His gaze was fixed on the book resting in his hands, but shifted over as the door closed behind me with a soft ‘thud’. His eyes widened slightly as they met with mine, a look of shock and confusion making its way onto his face. Wait…did he recognize me? Did he remember?_

_I suddenly found myself making my way across the room, stopping as soon as I reached his table. We simply looked at each other for what felt like an eternity, both waiting for the other to speak first. “Hey…do we know each other?” He was the first to break the silence, “I’m sorry but you just look…really familiar.” He didn’t remember. What was going one, was this even possible? Was it really him? I sat down in the seat across from his before he could protest; what was I supposed to say? Was this…a second chance? “I was just thinking the same thing, actually. My name’s Bill.” He blinked for a moment as he stared at me, a look in his eyes as if something had clicked in the back of his mind. “Bill, huh…? My name’s Roderick, but people call me Dipper. So, what brings you all the way out here? Not many people come to this part of town.” It was him. It was 100%, without a doubt, him. I had no idea how this could be possible, but I wasn’t about to start asking questions. I finally had him back. And this time, there was no way in hell I was going to screw things up._

 

* * *

               

“You and I got to know each other pretty well after that; well, more like I got to know you. I didn’t tell you the truth about who I really was, because I was afraid that you would remember what I’d done…I was desperate to have you with me, and I didn’t want to lose you again. A few years passed and you and I were pretty much inseparable. We were on the sea a lot of the time, discovering new areas of the world, because that was the thing to do back then. But eventually I got word that things were becoming pretty bad in my dimension; people noticed my absence and starting wondering where I was. When word got out about what I was doing, you can imagine how crazy things got.

I made up some excuse, told you that I had to go away for a while…believe me, I didn’t want to leave you, but I had no choice. You were pretty upset about it; we’d been getting ready to set sail again, this time to the Americas, but I promised you that I’d be back as soon as possible and that I’d meet you there. I saw you off, and then I headed to deal with things back home. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say there had been talk of a coup, and I had to get rid of some people. It was pretty gruesome, but it made it so that people once again understood who was in charge, and no one dared to challenge me anymore. But…something didn’t feel right. I had that same foreboding feeling that I’d had the last time, and I knew that something was wrong.

I came back, made my way to the Americas, but you were nowhere to be found. I asked around, and eventually I found out what had happened; there had been a storm, a big storm, and your ship was lost at sea. I…couldn’t keep my promise to you. I never even got the chance to tell you how I felt, and that crushed me. It felt like my heart was being shattered all over again. I blamed myself for what’d happened…all I could think about was that I should have stayed, I should have told you how I felt, I should’ve been with you. I thought that if I had been, then I could’ve stopped what had happened and kept you safe.

And then I thought, well what if he comes back? You already came back to me once, so I had hope that you would come back again. I had to…the idea that I’d lost you forever wasn’t something I was willing to accept. So I went back home, and I monitored the human world almost constantly, searching for any traces of you I could find. It took a while, but I finally found you again, and this time I wasn’t going to mess around. I went to you, earned your trust, got to you know you; and then when the time was right, I told you who and what I really was, leaving out the part about the past lives. It took you awhile to believe me, but when you finally did I convinced you to come live with me back in my dimension. I wanted to have you by my side all the time, make sure nothing bad would happen to you. And this time, I made sure to confess my feelings to you.”

 

* * *

               

_“Dipper!” I made my way into the library, watching as he turned around and flashed me a bright smile. God, how I loved his smile…it was always so sweet, so genuine. It was one of the things I loved most about him. “Hey Bill, what’s up?” He set down the book he’d been skimming through and walked up to me. I always knew that I could find him in there, studying my collection of tomes and writings from all over the universe; he was so curious, always interested in learning as much as he could about anything and everything._

_“I’ve been meaning to talk to you…there’s something that I’ve wanted to say for a while now, and well…I think now’s a good a time as any.” He titled his head curiously, and for some reason I started feeling uncharacteristically nervous. I opened my mouth to continue, but the words seemed to get caught in my throat. “What is it Bill? Is everything alright?” Why was I so anxious all of the sudden?_

_"Well…h-how do I put this?” I grasped one of his hands in mine, my other moving to rest softly on his cheek as I looked deeply into his eyes, “I’m…I’m in love with you, Dipper. I’m sorry, but I can’t hide it from you any longer, I needed to be honest with you.” My stomach was in knots, my heart beating so fast and loud that I was afraid he could hear it. It didn’t make it any better that he was just looking at me, not saying anything…did I screw up? Was I wrong, did he not feel the same for me as I did for him?_

_“Bill, I…” A bright, excited smile suddenly spread across his face, and I couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief, “I-I love you too! I had no idea you felt the same…I was so afraid to tell you, I thought you’d hate me!”_

_“How could I ever hate you?” I smiled back and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, simply enjoying the feeling of being together. It was by far one of the happiest moments in my life, to know that he returned my feelings, even after everything I’d done to him. I knew that telling him the whole truth was the right thing to do, but I would save that for another time. All I wanted at that moment was to be with him._

 

* * *

               

“Things continued on pretty smoothly, for a time, but…little did I know someone had been listening in to our conversation that night. One of my hench-minions eventually confronted me, Abadeth; he was my second in command at the time, the only one of my people that I’d ever come close to trusting. He accused me of becoming soft, tried to say that you were making me weak and that you’d cause my downfall. He told me that I should just get rid of you, and the conversation turned pretty heated after that. In the end he apologized, said that he simply misunderstood the situation and agreed to drop it; he was a useful asset, so I agreed to let it slide. That was…a terrible mistake. I never should have believed him.

That day I had to go out; I don’t exactly remember for what reason, something about some unrest that I had to take care of. Things can get pretty insane in my dimension, sometimes too insane for even my liking, and I’m the one that always has to take care of it. I never should have left you alone, though. I came back later that night, but…”

 

* * *

 

_“Dipper?” It was the third room that I’d searched for him in, but he was nowhere to be found. Normally I could just sense him out, but this time there was nothing…that made me extremely nervous. And again, there was this sinking, foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach. The only times that I’d ever felt it were when…no. No, it couldn’t be. Not here, not in my dimension. He was safe here._

_I made my way through the halls, coming to the last room that he could normally be found in: the library. As I reached for the doorknob, I suddenly realized that my hands were shaking. I stopped dead as I touched it, an ice cold chill shooting down my spine as I froze in place. What the hell was going on…? I turned the knob, pushing the door open slowly as a soft creak hit my ears. “D-Dipper?” I wasn’t sure why, but my voice came out broken and uneven, my throat suddenly feeling extremely dry._

_My eyes went wide, a gasp leaving my lips as I ran into the room and dropped to the floor. “Dipper!” He was lying on his side on the ground, and my hand reeled back on instinct as I went to turn him over; his skin was as cold as ice. As I moved him onto his back, I immediately noticed that his eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open to reveal blue-tinted lips. “No no no no, not again! Please don’t leave me again!” I held him in my arms, panic completely taking over my body as I tried to bring him back with my magic. “Don’t do this, please! Not again, not again…I can’t lose you again!” It was no use…he was already gone. “N-no…no…” How did this happen…how could I have let this happen!? I should have been with him! I shouldn’t have left! He…he was supposed to be safe here, I promised him he’d be safe!_

_“It had to be done, Bill.” An oh-so-familiar voice sliced through my thoughts…I knew it all too well. I slowly turned to look over my shoulder, my eyes travelling to the open door and coming to meet with those of the one person I never expected to betray me: Abadeth. “You…you did this?”_

_“I had to. He was holding you back, making you weak. I couldn’t just sit back and let that filthy human—”I was on him in a matter of seconds, slamming him back against the wall and causing him to replace his words with a choked gasp. “I’M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!” Rage. All I could see, all I could feel, it was nothing but complete and utter rage. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to feel nothing but pain, wanted to make him wish he had never even come into existence. By the time I was finished with him, I wanted him to be on his knees, broken and begging me to put him out of his misery. And then I wanted him to suffer even more._

 

* * *

“I should have known better. I should have never believed him, should have never left you alone…and because of me, you were gone again.

I promised that I would keep you safe, and I wasn’t able to.”


	20. Memory Lane (Part 2)

“After that I became obsessed, constantly scanning the human world to see if I could find you. It took a while, and eventually I did, but…this time I didn’t go to you. I was afraid; it seemed that whenever you and I were together, things ended badly. I feared that things would only continue to repeat themselves, that you would just keep getting hurt, and I couldn’t let that happen. So I just…watched you. Mainly from my dimension, but occasionally I would go to yours and just kind of follow you from the sidelines; I know, it sounds pretty creepy when I put it like that, but that’s the truth.

I started following you around more and more, always making sure to keep myself hidden. I tried to stay away, but…you have no idea how hard it was for me. I loved you so much, and I just wanted to keep you safe, but I didn’t think that was possible if I was in your life. One night, however, I followed you to a club. You were a bit of a partier then, and I never really knew why until later. Anyways, I was at the bar while you were dancing; I’d had quite a few drinks, and I got careless. Before I knew it you were right next to me, and I was like a deer caught in headlights. You were ordering something for yourself, and I prayed that you wouldn’t notice me. You did.”

 

* * *

_“Hey, can I get another shot over here?” Shit, how did I not notice him coming over? I shouldn’t have had so many drinks, it made me lose my focus. “Actually,” I tried not to look as he took up the seat next to mine, “Make that two.” Oh no. I slowly glanced over, my eyes immediately meeting with his brown ones; he was looking right at me._

_Maybe it was the dimly lit room and the flashing lights, but those eyes were suddenly more intoxicating than the alcohol. “Hey, I couldn’t help but notice you sitting all alone over here. What’s someone like you doing in a club? I can tell that it’s not really your kind of scene.” I gulped; what was I supposed to tell him? It didn’t help that he was flashing me one of those beautifully curious smiles that I loved so much. “I’m uhm,” I had to think of some excuse, and fast, “I was here for someone, but…I realized they would probably be better off without me.”_

_"Sounds rough,” He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic look, “Did you love them?” I glanced away and nodded slowly, “Yeah…I still do.” The drinks were brought to us, and I watched from the corner of my eye as he picked up his shot glass. “Did you ask them how they felt?” I looked at him, completely taken aback by his statement, “What?”_

_“This person that you love. You said that they’d be better off without you, but did you ever ask what they wanted? How they felt?” I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I simply shook my head instead. “Well, maybe you should. If you really do love them, then you should care about what they want too, right?” I couldn’t believe what he was saying…but he was right. I just stared at him, not knowing how to respond. “I’m sorry, I know that it isn’t really my place, but…I just hate to see someone like you so broken up. True love is rare in this world, and if you’re lucky enough to find it then you should hold onto that with everything you’ve got. But hey, that’s just my opinion.” He smiled and shrugged as he raised his glass to me, “Cheers? To love.”_

_“To love,” I said softly as I raised mine as well, my eyes not leaving his even for a second. The glass clinked softly as they collided, both of us tossing our heads back and downing the liquid a moment later. “Hey, why don’t you come dance with me?” He motioned out to the crowd of people on the floor, “I can’t, in all good conscience, just leave you here. Come on, it’ll be fun.” This was a bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea, and yet I still found myself being led by the hand to the dance floor._

_The smoke and flashing lights were mesmerizing, and our bodies swayed together as the loud music seemed to course through my blood. It was as if everything fell away, everyone around us slowly disappearing to leave only him and I. It felt so good to have him with me again, to be able to touch him and hold him close to me. I barely even noticed that his eyes were on me the whole time, as if he were studying me. And then came something I really didn’t expect._

_“I know that you’ve been watching me…” The sound of his voice whispering into my ear was suddenly much louder than the music. I stopped and looked at him, about to give some sort of fake explanation, but he continued before I got the chance. “You’ve been following me for a while now. I don’t know what it is, but…something about you seems so familiar, like we’ve met before. Like I’ve known you for a long time. Why is that?” He gazed up at me, but he didn’t seem angry or confused like I expected, he just seemed…curious. “Dipper, I—”_

_“I never told you my name.” Shit. How was I supposed to respond that? How was I supposed to explain? I couldn’t just tell him the truth, he’d think I was crazy! “You…wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He tilted his head and smirked, his eyes gleaming with interest, “Try me.” This was not going well for me. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t want to scare him away, not now. Yeah he’d believed me before, but I’d had time then; we knew each other for years before I finally told him the truth. Now I was expected to explain everything only a few minutes after meeting him._

_“Okay okay, I guess I shouldn’t put you on the spot like that. Something just tells me that there’s more to you than meets the eye…” He must have realized how off-guard he’d caught me, because he quickly dropped the subject. He simply looked at me after that, his eyes meeting with mine as his gaze captured me and refused to let go._

_Before I realized what I was doing I leaned down, my lips meeting with his as I pulled him close. Part of me expected him to push me away, yell at me and ask what the hell I was doing, but…he didn’t. His arms slowly slid around my neck, and that’s when I realized that he was kissing back. I couldn’t keep away from him any longer. It was useless to try._

 

* * *

               

“All of that time trying to avoid you, thinking I was keeping you safe…it all came crashing down. I brought you back with me, to my world. We were both pretty intoxicated, to be honest, and that night we…well, you can probably guess what happened. But waking up with you by my side made everything feel right again. You believed me when I told you who, or rather what I was, regardless of the fact that we’d just met. You didn’t seem surprised at all, and part of me wondered if the memories were still buried in the back of your mind. You of course didn’t remember anything like I did, but it was like it was all still familiar to you, somehow. Things with us went pretty well after that, and we were both pretty happy. I wondered if maybe this was it, if we could finally just be together in peace, but…it didn’t last.

Eventually you wanted to go back to your world to see your family, and I agreed to go with you. We were visiting your parents and your sister, and one night you and I got into a fight. It was over something stupid, I can’t even remember what it was…but you were upset, and you stormed out of the house. I ran out after you and tried to coax you back inside. It was cold and raining, and you were crying and…I-I tried to go and get you, but you just kept moving away from me, you walked right out into the road without realizing…it was so dark and the rain was so heavy, the driver didn’t even see you as they rounded the corner. It all happened in slow motion. I ran out to try and push you out of the way, but they were going too fast and I was too late…they didn’t even stop after they hit you.

That was the fourth time I’d lost you, and each time it had been my fault. From that point on the cycle repeated over and over: I’d find you, we’d get together, things would be fine for a time, and then I’d lose you again. And no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t protect you. Whether it was sickness or accidents, eventually you would leave me, and there was nothing I could do to keep you safe. And each time my heart would break all over again. It was agonizing, never knowing when or how it would happen…I loved you too much for my own good, and that love was slowly breaking me down more and more.

And then came this past lifetime, the one before this. You were with me in my palace, and we’d been together for quite some time, but I was almost constantly on edge. I didn’t think I could handle losing you again, and the unknown was slowly driving me insane. I couldn’t tell you about everything that had happened, so you didn’t know why I was suddenly so irritated all the time. You started to think it was your fault, and that only upset me more; I was mad at your ignorance, but unwilling to tell you the truth.

One night in particular I’d been drinking and thinking everything over…and the more I drank, the angrier I got. It didn’t seem fair to me that the one person I’d ever cared about just kept leaving me, no matter what I did. I was so mad, a-and I was so drunk…I didn’t even realize what I was doing…I stormed through the rooms looking for you, and when I finally found you I completely went off. But you didn’t understand, and you were so scared and I…D-Dipper, I…”

 

* * *

               

_Hazy. Everything felt hazy. I slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry as I tried to scan my surroundings. It took a moment, but eventually I realized that I was in the kitchen, sitting on the floor with my back pressed against the counter. “What the hell…?” I groaned as I put my hand on my forehead, my head pounding as my body slowly began to wake up. As I went to stand up, I realized that I was clutching something loosely in my other hand; it was a bottle. I turned it over in my hand to read the label, and it was in a language that only I understood. It was alcohol._

_“What happened last night?” I tried to think back and remember, but everything was black. I dropped the bottle and stood up, having to grab onto the counter as my legs wobbled slightly beneath me. “Dipper?” I called out into the empty halls, but the only response I got was that of my voice echoing back at me. Where was he?_

_It took me a moment to regain my balance, but as soon as I did I made my way to the library. “Dipper, you in here?” Empty. Next I went to the study, but I also found it to be empty. And then it hit me…that sinking feeling. “No,” I said breathlessly as I practically ran through the halls, throwing doors open and calling out his name as I searched around frantically. And then I came to the bedroom. I simply stopped in front of the doors and stood there, my heart pounding in my chest as a feeling of fear and reluctance washed over me. Not again. Please, not again._

_I threw the doors open and rushed inside, my eyes trailing over to his body lying on the floor. “No!” I ran over and dropped next to him, much like I’d done many times before. His eyes were lidded and glazed, and hundreds of memories of those same eyes came crawling into my head. “No, please…don’t leave me again…” I wrapped my arms around him and held him close to me, “Who did this to you…?” And that’s when I saw it…there were bruise marks on his neck. They were in the shape of handprints._

_Flashes of the previous night came flooding back to me._

 

_“Bill, what’s wrong?” I burst into the room, watching as he jumped and his wide eyes landed on me, “Have you…been drinking?” Don’t look at me with those eyes…don’t you know what you’ve been doing to me? Don’t you understand how much I love you? I took a step towards him, and he took a step back. “Bill, y-you’re scaring me…what’s wrong??” Why…why did I have to fall in love with you?_

_There was a loud crash as we hit the floor, and his eyes became wide and panicked. “W-why are you—!?” I could feel the tears spill from my eyes, my hands suddenly finding their way around his throat. What…what was I doing? “B-Bill, stop…!” His hands shot up as he tried desperately to push me off. I could feel his body flailing beneath me, but I couldn’t stop; it was as if my mind had shut down, leaving my body to move on its own. I was so mad…so mad at him for always leaving me behind. “Why you?” I could hear my voice slur and crack as I choked back sobs, “Why did it have to be you!?”_

_The struggling slowly died down. His hands clutched loosely to my wrists, his eyes lidded as his gaze started to become unfocused. “Please…” It left his lips as barely a whisper, but I could no longer hear him. My mind and my body were no longer my own. “Bill…” His hands slowly began to fall away from my wrists, “I…lo…ve…y..ou…..”_

 

_“N-no…no no no….no….” My eyes went wide as I stared down at those marks, my hand shaking uncontrollably as I slowly brought it up. My breath was coming out in short, quick bursts, growing heavier and faster the closer my fingers came to his skin. All I could do was repeat that one word, my mind feeling as if it were short circuiting. My body was convulsing. My breathing was erratic.  I…I-I did this…I did this to him…I-I…did this…to…h-him…_

_My hand met with the bruises._

_I threw my head back and let out a blood-curdling scream. My sanity completely shattered._

 

* * *

“I-I…I killed you, Dipper…” I watched as he began to shake, tears streaming down his cheeks as he stared off into the distance, his mind clearly elsewhere. “I-I killed you…how could I…how could I have done that to you…? I-I’m so sorry Dipper, I-I’m so sorry…” His arms were suddenly around me, embracing me tightly as he held me close. My mind was running like crazy, memories flooding back to me and confirming everything he was saying. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to hold back the tears I could feel forming there. Everything made sense now…the way he acted after he threatened me, the dream, all the times he’d slipped up…it all made sense. How could I have forgotten? All of those years, all of that time spent together…how could I have forgotten _everything_? There were still some blank spots, some memories that were a bit hazy, but the majority of it all came back to me.

We simply stayed like that for what felt like forever. Hours passed, the sky grew dark…we clung to each other desperately, as if we were both afraid that the other would disappear. “I’m sorry…” He kept repeating those words, his sobs dying down into whispers as he began to plant soft kisses on my skin. He started at my shoulder, gradually trailing his lips up my neck and to my chin. He then pulled back and gazed at me, his hand coming to rest on my cheek. His eyes were soft as they stared deeply into mine. “Dipper, I know that I can never take back what I’ve done…I don’t deserve another chance with you, and I completely understand if you hate me for—”

“Bill…I forgive you…” He stopped dead, and the room grew completely silent as he stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. “W-what...?” I slowly leaned in, my voice coming out as barely a whisper as my lips brushed against his.

“I forgive you.”


	21. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry I haven't been able to update recently, things here got kind of hectic for me. I started my first job, so that's taken some time to get used to. But don't worry, now that I've gotten into the swing of things I can finally start uploading again! It probably won't be a chapter a night like I did before, but I'll try to post as frequently as I can!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys have been doing good, and I'm really glad I got such positive reviews on the last few chapters! I was pretty worried about what kind of response I would get, but I'm really happy with all of the awesome comments! Thanks so much for all of your support!

I pressed my lips softly to his and pulled him closer. Having all of these memories returned to me was a bit overwhelming, but…I wasn’t angry with him. I didn’t hate him. Even after all of the terrible things he’d done, I just couldn’t bring myself to turn him away. Finding out the truth made me see things in a whole new light; it made me see _him_ in a whole new light. All of those years, all of those lifetimes, and he’d never given up on me. He’d suffered so much on my behalf, and even though he could have just walked away and moved on, he didn’t. Why did he put himself through all of this? It was like the pain and the suffering and the sadness was all worth it to him, just so he could…be with me?

He pulled back, his hand cupping my cheek as he gazed deeply into my eyes, “It’s because I love you, Dipper. I always have.” He planted another quick kiss on my lips before smiling softly, “I love you so much…you’re everything to me.” Another kiss. “And I’m not letting you go again…I can’t.” My heart skipped a beat as I looked into those eyes; I remembered something at that moment, and a question popped into my mind. “Wait, if you remembered all of this, then why did you terrorize my family and I for so long? Why did you try to destroy the world?”

“Well,” He started, running his fingers gently through my hair, “After what happened, I pretty much lost all of the sanity I had left. I reverted back to the way I used to be, before you, and forced all of those memories to the back of my mind; I had to. Because of that, even though the memories were still there, I forgot everything. I went back to the old crazy me, the one who only cared about himself and did whatever he wanted. I still always had this weird feeling around you, like I’d forgotten something, but my memories didn’t actually start resurfacing until I jumped from Stan’s mind to yours. At first I tried to ignore them, but the more time I spent with you the more bits and pieces I got, and little details. And then when we got bound together, that’s when they _really_ started coming back. I’m sorry for all of the shit I put you guys through, really I am.”

“Although I have to admit,” he smirked as he nudged me playfully, “It _was_ pretty fun being inside of you.” I could feel my face heat up as I shoved him, “Hey, forcing me out of my body was _not_ cool!” He leaned forward, his breath hot against my ear as he whispered seductively, “That’s not what I was referring to, _Pine Tree_ ~” He practically tackled me at that, both of us falling back onto the bed as he chuckled and nuzzled his nose into my neck. I couldn’t help but laugh as his hair brushed against my skin, making me feel ticklish, “B-Bill, stop it!”

My eyes met with the clock as I was attempting to shove him off, and I was shocked to see that it was now 6 pm. “Shit!” I spat as I quickly jumped off of the bed and began to gather up my clothes, “I completely forgot that I was supposed to run to store today, I have to hurry before it closes!” I threw on the shirt in my hands before rushing over to find a pair of pants, smiling at the soft groan that sounded from behind me. “Oh come on, do you have to?” I glanced over my shoulder to see him hanging upside down off of the bed, his arms crossed and a pouty look on his face. “I promised Grunkle Stan I’d pick up some stuff that we needed, and he’s gonna be pissed if I don’t. I won’t be long, I swear.” I pulled on a pair of dark jeans before turning to face him, straightening up my hair as best I could without looking in the mirror. I titled my head in confusion as his hand moved in front of his mouth to stifle a chuckle, “What is it?” He sat back up on the bed and pointed at me with a smirk, “I think you grabbed the wrong shirt, Pine Tree.”

I glanced down, my eyes widening slightly when I realized he was right. I hadn’t even been paying attention, I just grabbed the first one that I could see and threw it on. It was a black t-shirt with a yellow, Illuminati looking symbol in the middle, and it hung just a bit too loosely on my frame. As I walked over to the mirror I realized that it had strange yellow writing on the back, almost like a list that was written in a different language. Wait…was this…?

“Bill, is this a _band_ t-shirt?” I couldn’t help but give him a look of disbelief as I turned back to him, watching as he shrugged and flashed me another grin. “What, you don’t think we have music in my dimension? We may be demons Pine Tree, but we still know how to have fun. Humans aren’t the first beings to come up with the concept of a concert.” I just blinked as I looked at him, my mind nearly short-circuiting as I tried to imagine Bill Cipher jamming out in a crowd full of people.

I went to take it off, but a hand was instantly raised up to stop me, “No no no wait, keep it on. You look really good in it.” I glanced to the side as I felt my face heating up, his smirk only managing to make me blush more. One more look in the mirror told me that I was at least presentable enough to run to the store; besides, he was right. I did look pretty good in his shirt. “Where did this even come from? I didn’t see you wearing it yesterday.” I could hear his footsteps as he jumped off of the bed and began to make his way over to me, “It was under my hoodie. You were pretty quick to take it off last night, so I’m not surprised you didn’t see it.” I could practically hear the smirk in his voice as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I elbowed him halfheartedly as I tried to hide my face, almost immediately trying to pull away from him; he wasn’t budging. “H-hey, I really have to go!” I tried to unlatch his arms from around me, and finally I was able to escape his grasp. Well, almost.

Before I could even understand what was happening he grabbed my arms and spun me around, one of his hands sneaking to my lower back as his other held onto my wrist. I let out a gasp as he pushed me back against the mirror, his body suddenly pressed against mine as his tongue slipped inside my mouth. My free arm somehow found its way around his neck, and before I realized it I was pulling him closer and kissing back. He then pulled back, ending the kiss almost as soon as it started and leaving me there, flushed and panting. He smirked as he looked at me, his voice teasing and seductive, “Have fun.” And then he let go completely, turning and beginning to make his way back to the bed. I just stood there for a few moments as I tried to catch my breath and figure out what in the hell just happened. “I’ll be waiting for you.” He waved back at me as I practically stumbled out of the room, my legs suddenly feeling as if they were made of jelly. I shut the door behind me and pressed my back against it, my heart pounding in my ears as I let out a deep breath. “D-dammit Bill…”

All I could think about as I left the house were those last few words, and I found myself rushing around the store quicker than usual. I tried to tell myself it was because they were closing soon and I didn’t want to be rude, but part of me knew that wasn’t the _whole_ reason. I checked the clock as I waited for the rest of my items to be scanned, and I was surprised to see that it was already a quarter till 8. “Have I really been here almost two hours?” I thought as I grabbed my bags and handed the cashier the money. I guess I was more distracted than I initially thought.

As I made my way back outside, the rush of calm night air made me glad that I decided to walk. I tried not to drive too much if I was just going into town, because pretty much everything was in walking distance. I gazed up at the night sky as I made my way back towards the shack; the stars were shining brightly tonight, and I tried my best to pick out as many constellations as I could. I considered myself to be pretty good at astronomy, but for some reason my eyes were always drawn to the Big Dipper before anything else. Ironic, huh? It wasn’t long before I was back home, and I was so focused on the stars that I barely even noticed, almost walking straight into my car.

I shook off my daze and made my way up the steps, but I found myself walking much more slowly for some reason; a strange feeling came over me, like something wasn’t right. I stopped in front of the door, my hand hovering over the handle as I listened for anything out of the ordinary. There was a strange noise coming from inside, almost like yelling. I pressed my ear to the door in an attempt to listen more closely, and that’s when I realized it: it was yelling that I was hearing.

It was Ford and Bill.


	22. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooop, another chapter down! I know that last one was left on a bit of a foreboding cliffhanger, so I didn't wanna make you guys wait too long! Not much to say about this one, it pretty much speaks for itself. But I hope you guys enjoy!

I threw open the door and rushed inside, following the voices until I was brought to the kitchen. I stood in the doorway, my eyes wide as I stared at the scene in front of me. Before me was an extremely pissed-off-looking Ford, standing in a defensive position as he pointed a gun in front of him, one that was clearly not of this dimension. A few feet in front of him stood Bill, his eyes red and his hands spewing blue flames as he took on a fighting stance. “I swear to god Bill, I will kill you where you stand!” The blonde-haired demon gave him a dangerous chuckle as he glared darkly, “I’d like to see you try, Fordsy.”

“Tell me what you’re doing here right now, or I’ll—!” The gun in Ford’s hand began to glow and emit a strange, electric-like noise, and that’s when I figured it was my time to step in. “Ford, no!” I yelled as I dashed into the middle of the two, putting my hands out to force some distance between them. I watched as Bill’s eyes grew panicked, almost immediately returning to their normal state as he brought his hands back to his sides; Ford, on the other hand, didn’t budge. He just stared at me with wide eyes, giving me a look as if I were insane. “Dipper, what the hell are you doing!? Get out of the way!” He tried to push me aside but I stood my ground, instead shoving him back to where he’d been standing, “No Ford, I won’t let you hurt him!” His expression went from shocked, to confused, to that of disbelief in a matter of seconds. “Wait, is this your _boyfriend_? The one who’s been staying with us!? Dipper, do you have any idea who this—?!”

“I know that it’s Bill, Ford!” Now he went back to looking at me as if I belonged in a padded cell. He slowly lowered the gun, his eyes wide and his mouth agape as he stared at me in silence. “Wait…what?” I sighed as I turned to face him fully, and for a moment I thought maybe he didn’t understand what I’d said. I opened my mouth to try and explain, but he started yelling again before I was able, his eyes a mix of fury and astonishment as he threw his arms around for emphasis, “What do you mean you _know_? Dipper, how could you not tell me about this!? After everything he’s done to us, to this family!” I could hear the distress in my voice as I spoke, motioning back in Bill’s direction as I tried my best to reason with him, “Y-you don’t understand Ford, he’s changed! He’s not—”

“He tried to destroy the entire _world_ Dipper, do you not remember any of that!? This is _Bill Cipher,_ all powerful _demon_ who tricked both of us and almost cost us our lives! How could you possibly think that this was a good idea?! How could you be so stupid!?”

“Because I love him!!” My hands balled into fists as I yelled back at him, not even realizing what I’d said until after I’d already said it. I then froze in place, my eyes wide as I stared off and whispered the words back to myself, “I’m…in love with him.” I barely even noticed as Bill stepped up next to me, positioning himself between Ford and I. “Listen Ford, I know that I’ve done some pretty fucked up things, and I know that I’ve caused this family a lot of pain. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you, and to Dipper and to this town. I don’t expect you to forgive me, hell I don’t even expect you to _believe_ me, but...I love Dipper more than anything. He means more to me than you could possibly ever understand. If you want me to leave, then fine. But I’m not leaving him. Not again.” I felt his arm wrap around my waist; my mind was now racing and dazed, but as I glanced up I saw that he was staring at Ford with an intense, stern expression. Ford, on the other hand, was staring back with wide, shocked eyes, his mouth hanging open as his gaze darted back and forth between the two of us.

Part of me thought he was going to start screaming again, and the other feared he would kill us both right then and there. Surprisingly, he did neither. His eyes met with mine, brimming with confusion and distress and anger; then he simply turned away, completely silent, and walked straight out of the room. I let out a deep breath, my nerves completely shot as I tried to calm my now shaking hands. “Bill, I—” I turned to thank him but was caught off guard as his arm tightened around my waist, his lips immediately connecting with mine as he held my chin in place with his free hand.

“M-mpfh!” I couldn’t help but lose my balance and stumble backwards; I hit the edge of the table, gripping tightly onto the wood as he kissed me feverishly. “Did you mean what you said?” He pulled back just enough to speak, his breath hot against my lips. “W-what?” My mind was completely fogged over, and I wasn’t quite able to process what he was asking. He suddenly moved down, his lips latching onto my neck as he began to kiss and lick at the soft skin. I turned my head to the side, having to lean back on the table to keep my legs from giving out beneath me. “Say it again.” He trailed his tongue up to my ear and nipped on it lightly, “Please…”

“I…I-i love you…” I whispered, my breath coming out short and heavy as I brought up one of my hands and tangled my fingers in his soft, yellow hair. I let out a surprised yelp as he hoisted me up onto the table; I arched into his touch as he ran his fingers slowly up the middle of my back, another lustful kiss keeping me from protesting. “B-Bill wait,” I pushed him back slightly and took a moment to catch my breath, “We can’t…n-not here…”

“Why not?” He brought his lips back to the soft spot on my neck and parted them, beginning to suck on the sensitive flesh. I couldn’t help but let out a moan, bringing my hand up almost instantly to cover my mouth, “B-because we’re in the kitchen! What if Ford c-comes back?” He suddenly bit down, not hard enough to cause any real damage, but hard enough to hurt and make me cry out in a weird mix of pleasure and pain. “He went back down to his study…besides, maybe I want him to hear…” I could feel my face flush at that and I immediately shoved him, watching as he pulled back and nearly doubled over laughing, “Okay okay, I’ll stop!” I huffed and crossed my arms, trying my best to hide my increasingly red face from him. It didn’t work for long, however; his laughter slowly died down, his attention once again turning back to me. He smiled sweetly, a look in his eyes that made my heart skip a beat as they met with mine. He then wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace as he buried his face in the nape of my neck. “Dipper?” The room filled with a warm, comfortable silence as he whispered, and I could practically feel his smile against my skin, “I love you so much.”

I knew that I would have to deal with Ford sooner or later, and while that thought was unnerving, being in Bill’s arms just made me feel…safe. It was like nothing in the world could get to me, like all of my problems and worries just melted away. I couldn’t believe it took me so long to realize it, but…I really did mean what I’d said. And at that moment I realized there wasn’t anything in the world that I was willing to let come between us.

“I love you too.”


	23. Good News

We ended up going back to my room, mostly to keep from running into Ford again. I was really dreading the conversation that I was inevitably going to have to have with him. But I did know that I would do everything in my power to make him understand; as much as he hated Bill, there was no way I was going to let him kick him out of the house.

A few hours passed; Bill and I were laying on the bed, cuddled up together as he thumbed through the pages of one of my journals, when a knock sounded at my door. I got up to answer it, but an annoyed huff from Bill caught my attention. I turned back to look at him as I sat on the edge of the bed, and the anxious glare he was pointing at the door told me who was there before I even got the chance to look.

I laid my hand on top of his, squeezing it gently as I gave him a soft and reassuring smile, “Don’t worry Bill…I’ll take care of it.” This seemed to calm him down a bit, so I got up and made my way over to the door. I cracked it open just a bit to see outside, and standing there was exactly who I expected to see: Ford. He was facing away, but as soon as he heard the door creak his attention turned back to me. But he didn’t look angry like I thought he would. “Hey Dipper,” He rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced to the side uncomfortably, “Can I uhm…talk to you?”

I could practically feel the worry radiating off of Bill from across the room, but with a deep breath I nodded and took a step outside, shutting the door behind me. I followed him downstairs, figuring he wanted to move out of earshot, and stopped when we found ourselves in the living room. I kept my eyes on him, watching him intently and trying to gauge how the conversation was going to go; after a few moments of nothing but silence, he let out a sigh and turned to me. “Listen Dipper, I just wanted to say that…well, I’m sorry.” That was definitely not what I expected. “I know that I overreacted earlier, I just…you know that Bill and I have a history. And after everything that he’s done, finding out that you were protecting him this whole time without telling me, I just went off, and I really am sorry for that. But Dipper, I’ve gotta ask…why?”

I sighed and sat on the edge of the couch as I looked up at him, “I know that all of this seems crazy, Ford, believe me I do. And I know that I should have told you sooner, but things have just been…well, complicated. Trust me, when Bill first got here all I wanted was to get rid of him. None of this was my intention, but…look, I don’t know how to explain this to you, but I _promise_ you that Bill has changed. I know that he’s tricked you in the past, hell he’s tricked me too, and I know that he’s caused a lot of bad shit to happen to us. But he _has_ changed, he _is_ sorry! I know that must be hard to believe, but if you’re not going to listen to him, then at least listen to me. What it all comes down to is that I love Bill, and he loves me, too. I know that it’ll be hard, but please just _try_ to put the past aside? Don’t make him leave, Ford…because if he leaves, then I’m going with him.”

He looked at me with wide eyes, clearly trying to take in everything I’d told him, and slowly took a seat next to me on the couch. It grew quiet at that, and I couldn’t help but fidget slightly in my place, my mind racing with all the possibilities of how this might end. “You really are serious about this, aren’t you?” He finally broke the silence, and as I looked over at him I noticed that he was staring at me curiously, “You really do love him?” I simply nodded, glancing down at my lap as I wrung my hands subconsciously. And then came more silence.

“Okay,” He sighed deeply, and as I looked over I noticed that he was giving me a reluctant smile; it was half forced, half genuine, and it was clear that he wasn’t quite sure of himself. “Okay?” Wait…was he actually saying what I thought he was saying? “Yeah. If you really are serious about this and are willing to vouch for him, then I believe you. It’ll definitely be hard and it may take some time, but I’ll try to be civil and let the past be the past.”

“Really?” I looked at him in shock, part of me wondering if he was just messing with me, but as he nodded I couldn’t help but hug him in relief, “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I promise you won’t regret this!” He chuckled and shrugged before hugging me back, “I just want you to be happy Dipper, and if he makes you happy then who am I to take that away? If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that you can't choose who you fall in love with...but mark my words, he puts one foot out of line, I won’t hesitate to blast him to bits.” As I pulled back, I knew by the stern look in his eyes that he wasn’t joking. This would definitely take some time and effort on both of their parts, but I knew that in the end it would be worth it.

“Well, I should probably get back to my study. I want to try and get my work done for the night before Stan gets back.” I nodded and stood up, my eyes following him as he made his way towards the gift shop area of the shack. “Oh, and Ford,” He glanced back at me over his shoulder, his head tilted in curiosity. “I’m happy for you and Stan.” I watched as his face went red, his eyes wide and surprised; his voice was clearly flustered as he quickly turned away and practically ran out of the room, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…!” I chuckled and shook my head as I murmured to myself, “Uh huh, suuuure you don’t.” And with that I turned and made my way back towards the stairs, ready and excited to tell Bill the good news.

I could hear an extremely faint noise as I stood at the bottom and looked up the stairway; as I began to make my up to my room, the sound gradually grew louder, and I realized it was a voice: Bill’s voice. However, it was extremely hushed, and I couldn’t actually make out any of the words. As I neared the top of the steps, I could tell that his tone was distressed and even a little bit angry, but who was he talking to? I finally stopped outside of the door, my hand hovering over the handle as I listened closely; I knew I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but it was clear to me that something wasn’t right.

“What do you mean he’s _gone_?” I barely made out the words, his voice low and exasperated, “I made _sure_ that bastard would never see the light of day again, and now you’re telling me he’s just _vanished_? That’s not possible!” A long pause came at this, but since no other voices could be heard, I assumed he was talking on some type of phone; about what, I didn’t know, but whatever it was didn’t sound good. “Well he couldn’t have gotten far…I’ll be over to take care of it.” A loud, annoyed sigh sounded from the other side of the door, and I figured that was my cue to go in.

I slowly opened the door and poked my head inside; he didn’t see me at first, his brow furrowed as he glared off and bit down on the tip of his thumb, seemingly in deep thought. “Hey,” I stepped inside, watching as his now wide eyes snapped up to meet mine, “Is everything alright?” He brought his hand back to his side, but he didn’t say anything; instead he just continued to look at me, his eyes filled with apprehension. “Bill,” I said as sternly as I could, making my way over to sit on the edge of the bed, “What’s going on?”

“I uhm…have to run back to my dimension, to take care of some things. But…” He bit the inside of his lip as he looked at me, concern in his eyes. It was clear what he was thinking before he even had the chance to say it. “Bill, I’ll be fine. Go do whatever you need to do, okay?” The lack of details was definitely unnerving, and I knew there was more to whatever this was than he was letting on, but I also knew that he probably had a good reason for not telling me. But his face only seemed to scrunch up when I said this, his eyes looking deeply into mine with an almost desperate look, “I…don’t want to leave you here alone.” I gave him the best reassuring smile I could as I rest my hand on his shoulder, “Bill I’m not alone, my family’s here. Besides, whatever business you have will probably go by much faster without me there to slow you down.” It grew silent again, his eyes darting back and forth between mine as if they were looking for the solution.

“I just…”  He stared at me intently, and I realized that this was probably the most indecisive I’d ever seen him; what could have caused him to get so riled up? Why was he so worried? “Listen Dipper, I just…I know this may sound ridiculous, but if I leave you here you have to _promise_ me that you won’t step foot out of this house, okay? I’m not trying to be dramatic or controlling or anything, but…please, you’re just gonna have to trust me on this.” I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was dead serious, and I knew there was no room for negotiation. Not that I really wanted to argue with him anyways; for something to have gotten him this worried, I knew that the only thing on his mind was my safety. I trusted him to know what was best. “Okay,” I nodded, moving my hand to cup his cheek as I smiled softly, “I promise.”

This seemed to calm him down a bit, his hand covering mine and gripping lightly as he gave me a reluctant smile. He leaned forward at that, his arms moving to wrap around me and pull me into a tight embrace. I hugged back, pulling closer to him as I rest my head on his shoulder and sighed contently. “Oh, by the way, I talked with Ford.” He pulled back just a bit and looked down at me, his expression both curious and slightly worried, “Yeah, I almost forgot…so how did it go?” I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered back to the conversation, “Long story short, he said that you could stay.” His eyebrows raised as he gave me an astonished look, “Really? Well that’s a shocker, I expected him to try and kick me out the first chance he got. I’m surprised he didn’t shot me earlier, to be honest.”

He smiled and leaned forward to plant a light kiss on my lips, “But I guess I have you to thank for that, now don’t I?” His eyes looked deeply into mine, and I watched as worry began to seep back into them, his smile now tinged with sadness. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?” I knew that he wasn’t really asking, and he was more saying it to himself than he was to me, but I found myself nodding anyways.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I had a day off today, so I figured I'd go ahead and finish up this chapter. I was going to publish a shorter version the other day, but I decided to add more onto it instead, so that's why it took longer. I know, excuses excuses, right? 
> 
> Aaaanyways, looks like we got some kind of storm brewing...hmm, I wonder what it could be? Any ideas on what Bill was talking about? Guess we'll just have to wait and see ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Feel free to post your thoughts/predictions in the comments!
> 
> As always, I hope you're all having great days/nights, and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!  
> See ya in the next one!


	24. An Unwelcome Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I don't really have much to say about this chapter, it kind of speaks for itself I think. The next one may take me a bit longer to write, but I'll try not to keep you guys waiting too long! Also, I so loved reading all of the comments and theories on the last chapter, so thank you guys so much for leaving them! Reading comments is one of my favorite parts of writing this story, because they're always so nice and it makes me happy to know you guys are all still enjoying the story so much!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys are all having great days/nights as always, and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!  
> See ya in the next one,  
> SLATS~

He was so apprehensive; it made me nervous. Seeing him like this told me that something was _really_ wrong, because he wasn’t the type to scare easily. That was, unless I was involved, it seemed. “What’s going on?” I wanted to ask him, “Why are you so afraid for me?” But I knew that he wouldn’t answer. So instead I was left to wonder, my mind racing with possibilities yet still managing to come up blank. “I’ll be back soon…I promise.” He gave me one last kiss, a flash of blue flames filling the room, and then he was gone. I could have sworn that I caught a glimpse of his eyes before he vanished, one clear emotion swimming within them: fear. But why? I wished that he would have just told me.

I laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling in a daze; the past few days had been pretty emotionally exhausting on their own, and now all I could do was worry about Bill. “Who were you talking about?” I said aloud as I yawned, my eyes beginning to grow heavy, “Who escaped? Why didn’t you want to tell me…?” I turned on my side, wrapping my arms around the pillow and holding it close to my chest. The bed felt much…colder. As I slowly began to drift off, the only thing on my mind was him; I hoped he was okay. I hoped that he’d take care of whatever was going on. But more than anything, I hoped he’d come back soon.

 

That night I slept restlessly. My eyes barely even wanted to open by the time morning came, my entire body plagued with heavy fatigue and a lack of peaceful sleep. As I finally managed to force them open, I realized that my surroundings were bathed in gray. I glanced over at the window, my eyes meeting with a dark, clouded sky; looked like a storm was coming our way. A quick look at the clock showed that it was going on 12:30, and I was surprised that I’d slept in so late, especially considering it felt like I hadn’t slept at all. The entire night I’d been in some strange, paranoid state of limbo. It was almost as if my mind was on alert the whole time, refusing to let me fall into a deep sleep.

I turned back over on my side, not quite wanting to leave the comfort of my bed yet; however, as my gaze landed on the empty spot next to me, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sinking in the pit of my stomach. It was at that moment that I realized just how empty the room felt without him there. I sighed and sat up, deciding that it would probably be impossible to try and go back to sleep now. Besides, if it were to be anything like last night, it’s not like it would do much good for me anyways.

I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and got up, stretching as I made my way over to the mirror. I completely forgot that I was wearing Bill’s shirt until then, and seeing the strange symbol somehow made me feel better. “He said he’d come back soon…” I murmured as I thought back, trying to reassure myself that he’d probably be back sometime today. I rummaged through my dresser and threw on a pair of pajama pants, figuring there was no point in getting fully dressed. Besides, rainy days were always the best for lazing around and staying comfortable. I didn’t even bother fixing my ruffled hair as I turned and walked out of the room, my bare feet padding lightly against the steps as I made my way downstairs. I went into the kitchen and found Ford sitting at the table, sipping at a cup of coffee as his eyes scanned over a strange-looking paper.

“Oh hey Dipper!” He glanced up as I entered the room and smiled, “So you’re finally up, huh? I was starting to get a little worried, you normally don’t sleep in so late.” His gaze slid past me, his head tilting to the side curiously, “Where’s Bill? He knows that he doesn’t have to keep hiding out in your room now, right?” I smiled slightly and stepped over to the table to take a seat next to him, “He’s not here…he had to go take care of something in his dimension. He said he’d be back soon, though.” He nodded and suddenly began staring at me intently, almost as if he were studying me or something. “You okay?” He asked, concern in his voice as he set his paper down on the table, “You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah I’m okay, I just didn’t get much sleep.” I shrugged and motioned toward the paper in an attempt to change the subject, “What’s that?” It was clear that he wanted to press further, but he must have decided against it, his attention turning towards the page once again. “Oh, just some research I’ve been doing. I’ve been getting some strange signals recently from somewhere in the Alaskan region, and I’ve been trying to figure out if it’s worth checking out or not. These things always tend to be a hit-or-miss situation, so I try to make sure there’s actually something worthwhile before Stan and I pack our bags and venture out. No point in wasting all of that time and energy for something that could actually end up being nothing, you know?”

I nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense. So do you think—?” I was cut as someone started knocking on the door; I was a bit confused as to who it could be, because the majority of the people who used the main door normally just came inside. “Are you expecting anyone?” I asked, but a quick look over at Ford told me that he wasn’t, his expression just as confused as mine. I shrugged, figuring that it was probably just a tourist that came to the wrong door on accident. I got up and made my way over to the entryway, but as I reached for the door handle, it was as if my body completely froze. “What the hell…?” I thought as my hand began to shake, a strange chill shooting down my spine, “What’s this feeling?” Another knock came at the door, and I had to practically force my hand down onto the handle.

I slowly pulled it open, my eyes meeting with a pair of bright, emerald greens; I didn’t recognize the guy at all, but somehow those eyes were extremely familiar to me. I didn’t like it. “Uhm…hello. Can I help you with something? If you’re here for the gift shop, we’re closed for the day.” I tried to reassure myself that I was just being paranoid, but something about him told me that he was _not_ a tourist. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already, Dipper. I’m hurt.” My eyes went wide as I stared at him, a sharp knot beginning to form in the pit of my stomach. I could barely even think as his eyes began to glow green, my mind becoming jumbled and hazy. "Or wait, what was it that he always liked to call you?" Before I could even understand what was happening, my vision began to turn black.

“ _P_ _ine Tree?_ ”


	25. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains slightly graphic depictions of violence and one extremely pissed off Bill Cipher! Please read at your own discretion!  
> (But honestly if you've stuck around this long, it's nothing you can't handle)

_Bill’s P.O.V._

 

“I don’t understand,” I said through gritted teeth, my body beginning to shake in frustration, “This doesn’t make any sense!” Where could he have gone? Where could he have _possibly gone!?_ I made _sure_ that he wouldn’t be able to escape, and now, after _centuries_ of imprisonment, he was just _gone_? “How could this have happened!?”

“Sir,” One of my henchminions came into the room, a clearly reluctant look on his face, “We searched everywhere, but…we haven’t been able to find him.” I slammed my hands down onto the table, my eyes glowing red as the loud bang echoed through the room, “WELL LOOK AGAIN!” He reeled back, immediately bowing and practically bolting out of the room, “Y-yes sir!” I began pacing around frantically, my mind racing as I tried to think of where he could have gone. I didn’t think he could’ve gotten far in his condition, but…

Another of my henchminions entered a moment later, her head low and her eyes refusing to meet mine. “S-sir, we’ve looked all over multiple times, but he still hasn’t turned up.” I grabbed my head as I let out an angry growl, “Well then where the hell did he—!?” My eyes went wide, an idea suddenly coming into my mind that I hadn’t even thought of before. No…no no no, that wasn’t possible. How could he have…? Oh god…oh god no. “Dipper…” I bit down on my lip, the taste of blood filling my mouth as I desperately tried to steady my now erratic breathing. If I was right, I had to get back _now_. “Call off the search.” I could tell she was confused, but I was gone before she had the chance to ask any questions.

I found myself at the entrance to the Mystery Shack a moment later. “Dipper!” I called out as I went inside, running up the steps and throwing open the door to the bedroom. It was empty. I called out again as I made my way through the various rooms on the first floor, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. “Hey,” I whirled around as a voice sounded from behind me, my eyes meeting with those of Ford, “Is everything okay?” For once in my life, I was glad to see him. “Where is Dipper, have you seen him anywhere!?” He put his hands up, his eyes wide and confused as he stared at me, “Whoa whoa calm down there Bill, I just saw him a little bit ago. I think he left with a friend of his or something.” I could feel the panic shoot through my entire body, “Wh-what!? What do you mean he left?! Tell me everything that happened!”

His eyes grew worried, and I could tell that he was beginning to realize something wasn’t right, “Well someone came to the door a couple hours ago and he answered it, seemed like the guy knew him. They talked for a few minutes and then Dipper left with him. Now that I think about it, he didn’t even say goodbye or that he was leaving or anything, he just sort of…left.” My body began to lose balance, my breath coming out in short, quick bursts; I couldn’t help but stumble back a bit, and I had to grab onto the edge of the table to steady myself. “What did he look like?” I watched as he shook his head, his mouth hanging open as he tried to understand what was happening, “What do you—?”

“WHAT DID THE GUY LOOK LIKE, FORD!?” He jumped, clearly not expecting the outburst, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was trying to remember, “I-I didn’t catch a good look at him, Dipper was blocking the way! From what I saw he was a little bit taller than him, and it looked like he had black hair, but I can’t—”

“Fuck!” I gripped my head tightly in my hands, my entire body overcome with a mix of anger and fear, and I barely even noticed as all of the lights in the room began to go haywire. “Bill, just calm down and tell me what’s going on!” My attention snapped back to Ford as he grabbed my shoulders, his eyes wide and desperate. “That guy was _not_ a friend, Ford. If it’s who I think it is, then Dipper’s in trouble, and I don’t have time to explain.” I turned to make my way out of the shack, but was stopped as Ford grabbed onto my arm, “Wait, let me go with you.”

I looked over my shoulder at him and shook my head, “No, it’s too dangerous. I know you want to help, but I need you to stay here in case Dipper comes back, okay? I promise you that I’ll take care of this.” He made a face, and it was clear that he still wasn’t quite sure if he could trust me or not. But he slowly began to release his grip a moment later, his eyes stern and reluctant as they stared into mine. I pulled away and opened the door, a rush of cold air hitting me as rain began to pour from the darkening sky. “Bill?” His voice was serious as it sounded from behind me, “…bring him back safely.”

With that I took off, rushing into the thick blanket of rain and trees as I tried to sense out where he was. I could feel his presence close by, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he was; it was growing weaker and weaker by the second, with sharp, quick bursts at random intervals. He was in pain, but more than that, he was scared. “Where are you Dipper…?” I whispered to myself as I bolted through the forest, my eyes scanning frantically for anything out of the ordinary. And that’s when I saw it: a small, barely noticeable dirt path. I took a fast turn, my hurried steps inaudible as the rain hit the leaves at an almost deafening volume. I wasn’t sure why, but something just told me that I was going the right way.

I followed that path, the sky seemingly growing darker with every step I took. I was getting closer, I could feel it; I could feel him. I came to a stop, my eyes meeting with a small, decrepit looking cabin. Was this it? Yes…yes, he was in there. I could hear him, hear his thoughts, but they were all jumbled and incoherent. They were loud, so loud, like screaming. I’d never heard anything like it before. I took a step forward, and then…silence.

It all just stopped.

I let out a sharp gasp, nearly doubling over as a sickening, twisting feeling shot through my entire body. “N-no……NO!!” I burst through the door, my body practically moving on its own as I ran to what seemed to be a basement. “Awh, don’t tell me your done already?” It was dark, but I could hear a familiar, mocking voice a short ways ahead of me, “Wow, you humans really are weak, aren’t you?” I came to a large metal door, and as I pulled it open my eyes met with those of the last person I wanted to see, but the only one I was expecting. “Abadeth.” I growled through my teeth, his eyes glowing green in the dimly lit room. A large, sinister grin spread across his face when he saw me, “Well well well, if it isn’t my good friend Bill Cipher. Just the man I was looking for!”

“You’re a bit late to the party, though; looks like I broke your little _toy_.” He chuckled lowly as he motioned behind him, “Such as shame, too. You should have heard him crying for you, poor thing. ‘Bill, please!’ How pathetic.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes as he took a step towards me, “But I think the best part about it all was watching the light leave his eyes, when he finally realized you weren’t going to be able to save him. It was heartbreaking, really.” Wh…what….?

“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t understand.” He stepped to the side with a cruel smirk, “Do I have to spell it out for you, Bill?” My eyes went wide, my legs nearly giving out beneath me as saw Dipper, his hands bound behind his back as his body lay limp and lifeless on the floor. Every fiber of my being became overtaken with rage. “You…YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!!!”

"Funny," He chuckled lowly, that same sickening grin spreading across his face, "That's the last thing he said, too."

I ran at him, throwing him against the wall with a satisfying ‘crack’. He let out a garbled cough, blood spewing from his mouth as he began to slide down to the floor. I grabbed his throat before he hit the ground, picking him up and slamming him back on the wall as he kicked and flailed in a vain attempt to get me off. I squeezed my fingers tightly around his neck, watching as he began to gasp and wheeze for air; then I turned, throwing him to the ground with all of the strength I had as another loud ‘crack’ rang through the room. He tried to raise his hands, but I quickly bound them to the floor before he was able to, rendering his magic useless. “I should have killed you when I had the chance…” I stood over him, my mind clouded with bloodlust, “I won’t make that mistake again.”

I struck down on him again and again; I didn’t stop when I felt the warm blood splatter onto my skin. I didn’t stop when his screams began to die down, slowly becoming replaced with a chocked gargling. I didn’t stop when my vision filled with nothing but a deep, dark red. And I didn’t even stop when the room finally grew silent, the only other sound being that of my rough, ragged breath. The only time I stopped was when I caught a glimpse of messy brown hair in the corner of my eye…and that’s when I remembered why I was there.

“Dipper!” I snapped back to reality as I scrambled over to him, my hands shaking fiercely as I tore the chains from around his wrists and turned him onto his back. His eyes were lidded and glazed over, and as I cupped his face in my hands, I realized that his skin was cold to the touch. “N-no…no…D-Dipper…?” No response. “Dipper, w-wake up!” Nothing. “Dipper, please wake up!! I can’t…I-I can’t do this again…” I could feel the warm tears spill from my eyes, my body filling with nothing but pure panic. “I can’t lose you again…!! Please Dipper…please just wake up…!” I began to repeat the words over and over as I pressed my hands against him, a bright blue glow filling the air. “Wake up…w-wake up, Dipper…please…please wake up. Just wake up. Wake up! Wake….UP!!!” I slammed my hands down onto his chest as I yelled, a blinding flash and a gust of energy bursting through the room.

He shot up almost instantly, his eyes flying open as he began to cough and hack uncontrollably. “Dipper!?” His coughs turned into a shallow panting, his eyes hazed as he stared off blankly. I brought my hands up to his cheeks, gently turning his head to face me; his gaze was unfocused, almost as if he didn’t see me at all. He began to blink a moment later, his eyes confused as they slowly came to meet with mine.

“…B-Bill…?” I threw my arms around him and pulled him close to me, holding him tightly and refusing to let go. “What…happened…?” His voice came out quiet and raspy, and I could tell that his body was extremely weak, but...he was alive.

I couldn’t help as I let out a broken sob, clutching onto him as if my life depended on it; or more importantly, as if his did. I was afraid that if I let him go, he would be gone again, and this time I wouldn’t be able to save him. He pulled back to look at me, his eyes growing wide and panicked, “B-Bill, you’re covered in blood! Are you hurt? Wait…Abadeth, he was—!” He went to turn his head but I quickly brought up my hands to stop him, “No, don’t look.”

“Did you…?” He trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish; I already knew what he was asking. “He’s not going to hurt you anymore, Dipper. You’re safe now.” He slowly nodded, and it wasn’t until then that I noticed the dry blood on his lips. I couldn’t help but grit my teeth as I made a face, wondering what exactly Abadeth had done to him…but now wasn’t the time to ask. “Come on,” I motioned as I stood, attempting to help him up as well, “Let’s get you home.” I stopped as he let out a loud hiss, a pained expression on his face, and I quickly realized that he was avoiding putting weight on his right leg. “Are you okay? Can you walk?” He shook his head, having to hold onto me to keep from falling back to the ground. “Something’s wrong with my ankle, I think…” I scowled, part of me tempted to bring Abadeth back just so I could kill him all over again. “But I can probably—”

I scooped him up in my arms before he could complain, holding onto him bridal style as I began to carry him back up the steps. “H-hey! You don’t have to carry me Bill, I said I could—”

“Just let me do this for you.” I meant to sound stern, but the words came out much softer than I’d anticipated; it didn’t seem to matter, though. His eyes looked into mine, his mouth hanging open slightly as all of his protests seemed to fade away. It grew quiet at that, the only other sound being that of the rain as we made our way back to the first floor of the cabin. I stopped in the doorway, looking up and watching as the raindrops poured down from the dark and clouded sky. “Bill…?” I glanced down to see him gazing up at me, a sad and weak smile on his face, “…thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter took longer to finish than I originally thought it would, so sorry for the wait! To all of those who left their theories about Abadeth, congratulations, you were correct! Aren't you glad he's out of the picture? What a douche, am I right? Poor Dipper just can't catch a break!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter! And thanks again for all of the awesome comments, you guys are always so nice and supportive :) you all really give me the motivation to keep writing!
> 
> And as always, I hope you all are having great days/nights, and I'll see ya in the next one!  
> SLATS~


	26. Reluctance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT THIS TOOK SO MUCH LONGER TO GET OUT THAN I ANTICIPATED, I'M SO SORRY GUYS!  
> Things have just been kinda hectic on my end, so finding time to write has been a little hard. Still, I'm super sorry this took so long, I really didn't mean for it to! Also, I have an important announcement to make: there is going to be ONE MORE CHAPTER! The finale is finally on its way! Are you guys ready? Because I'm definitely not!
> 
> Either way, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and once again I'm super sorry it took so long! I've got a lot of stuff coming up here in the next few weeks, but I'll try and get the finale out as soon as I can! It's gonna be a long one, so prepare yourselves!
> 
> And as always, I hope you are all having great days/nights, and I will see ya in the next one!  
> SLATS~

Wait…was he thanking me for what I thought he was? I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as I looked down at him suspiciously. “For what?” He opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it, his sad smile turning soft and somewhat guilty. “For saving me…” Oh no. No no no, I was _not_ about to let that happen. “Dipper,” I took a deep breath before saying his name in as serious a tone as I could, finally managing to bring his averted gaze back to mine, “Don’t you dare go feeling responsible or guilty for this.” His eyes grew pained and it was clear that he tried to hide it, but I saw it anyways. He must have realized this, because he quickly turned his gaze down again, that sad smile once again playing on his lips as he wrung his hands together, “But if I wouldn’t have answered the door, then—”

“No, Dipper. Look at me.” His eyes met with mine again, clearly taken aback from the sudden demanding tone, “There was no way you could’ve known what would happen. The fact of the matter is that I should have seen it coming, and I never should have left you alone. By the time I realized it, it was already too late, but…this was the _one_ time I was able to save you. Please…don’t thank me for that.” His hands stopped moving.

I heard him breathe in sharply, his eyes shocked and swimming with emotions as they stared into mine, but he didn’t say anything. He simply nodded, gripping loosely to the front of my shirt with one hand as his attention turned up to the sky. I followed his gaze, once again watching as the rain poured forth, showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. I couldn’t help but look back to him worriedly, my mind suddenly torn; I didn’t want him getting wet in his condition, but I’d used up a lot of energy bringing him back and I knew I needed time to recharge, so I wasn’t sure if transporting us back was the best idea.

“I’ll be fine, Bill.” The sudden statement jarred me out of my thoughts, my eyes darting back down to him. I thought that maybe he’d been looking at me and realized what I was thinking by my expression, but I found his gaze still on the sky, not having moved in the slightest. “Wait…” I whispered aloud as I stared at him, my intent gaze not breaking for even a second, “How did you know what I was thinking?” He turned to me, his head tilted slightly as he gave me a confused look, “You said it out loud, didn’t you? I could have sworn I heard you.” I tried to play off the shock that seeped into my voice, but it was clear that he heard it regardless, his expression suddenly mirroring it, “No, I didn’t.” He slowly shook his head as if he didn’t understand what I’d said, “Well then how did I…?” He trailed off, not quite knowing how to finish the thought. An idea popped into my mind but I quickly buried it, not wanting to say anything until I knew for sure; I’d have to take a closer look at him when we got back. He gave me a questioning look as I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, trying not to let him see how uneasy I was, “I’m sure it’s nothing. Either way we need to get you home, the last thing you need right now is to catch a cold from staying out here too long.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to—” I could hear the worry in his voice so I tightened my arms around him reassuringly, flashing him another bright smile, “Don’t worry Pine Tree, I’ll be fine. I’m a being of pure energy with no weakness, remember? It’s not me you should be worrying about.” I watched as he chuckled and rolled his eyes, finally seem to calm down, “Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say Bill.” With that I took a deep breath and gathered up as much energy as I could, a bright blue light overtaking our surroundings as it enveloped us.

_Dipper’s P.O.V._

I could tell that he was feeling weak, no matter how much he tried to hide it. I could feel his arms almost give out as we arrived at the entrance to the shack, but he just continued to play it off. “Bill, are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” I decided to press the subject one more time as we made our way inside, but he just continued to try and reassure me that he’d be fine after some rest. I mean, I know he’s a demon and all, but does he face the same risks as humans do? I didn’t think that demons could be killed, but Abadeth was also a demon…was it just because Bill was stronger than him? It was all still very new and unfamiliar territory to me. I suddenly had so many questions to ask, but now wasn’t really the best time to ask them, so I just decided to trust him and take his word for it.

We practically got swarmed when we first stepped inside. Stan, Ford, and Mabel all rushed up to us, fear and relief and worry all mixing together in their eyes all at once. Bill tried to explain the best he could, but eventually I figured it was best to interject. “I’m okay now guys. Bill took care of everything, so you don’t need to worry. I’ll explain everything later, but for right now let’s just say we’ve both been through a lot and really need to rest.” This seemed to calm them down enough for the time being, but I knew they’d want more detailed answers, and I resolved to tell them when the time came. It was almost strange taking control of the situation, and I felt a bit surprised by how quickly they all quieted down and listened to me; a glimpse at Bill’s expression told me that even he was a little shocked.

We finally made it up to my room after that, and even though Bill tried his best to lay me on the bed gently, I still couldn’t help but wince as a sharp soreness shot through my entire body. “Are you okay?” He said softly, his eyes concerned as they gazed down into mine, “I should probably—”

“I’m okay Bill, still just a little weak after everything…what you need to do is get some rest, okay? I don’t want you over-working yourself. I’m sure I’ll be better after resting too, but I promise I’ll let you check me over tomorrow, okay? Please just take it easy for now…” He had been reaching his hand toward me but stopped when I spoke, his arm now hanging in the air as he blinked in confusion; I couldn’t really figure out why he was giving me that look, but he snapped back before I was able to ask. “Okay, you’re probably right…but I’m definitely examining you tomorrow, okay? No exceptions.” I smiled at him and nodded, watching as he smiled back and sat down on the bed with me.

He moved over to his usual spot by the wall, sitting crisscross on top of the comforter and taking up the same meditative stance that I’d seen him in before. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes, a calm silence filling the room; I realized that that must have been his way of “recharging”. I sighed and got as comfortable on the bed as I could, the throbbing pain in my body slowly beginning to die down. As I laid my head on the pillow, it was suddenly almost impossible to keep my eyes open, my brain becoming muddled with a heavy fatigue. I guess I would be tired after what happened…

An image of Abadeth flashed into my mind, and I tried my best to quickly shake it off; that was the last thing I wanted to think about right now. I knew that Bill had gotten rid of him for good, so there was no way he was coming back, but every time I thought of him a feeling of sickness and anger began to creep into my stomach. I still wasn’t quite sure exactly what Bill had done to bring me back, either. I thought that I was gone for sure back there, so for him to have managed that was beyond a miracle, so I wanted to ask him how he did it.

But all of these questions were no good to me at the moment; I could feel my consciousness slowly beginning to drift, my body and mind giving in to the exhaustion beyond my control. So even though there was a lot that I still didn’t know, I resolved to get my answers in the morning, finally letting the sleep that I so desperately needed overtake me.

 

_“Dipper, it’s time to wake up.” I could hear a voice; it was faint at first, but as it grew louder I realized that it sounded like…me? It held a much more serious and dark tone to it, but it was definitely my voice. “What the hell…?” I said aloud, or at least I thought I did, my words echoing in my ears. I couldn’t see anything either, but I quickly realized it was because my eyes were still closed; as I opened them, my gaze was met with an empty, white room. Well, almost empty._

_There was a full length mirror just…sitting in the middle of it. I slowly walked up to it, my vision filling with only my own reflection. But wait…something wasn’t right, something was different. And that’s when I realized it: my eyes weren’t brown in the reflection. As soon as I became aware of that the eyes began to emit a bright, lime green glow, and I couldn’t help but take a step back in surprise. My reflection didn’t move._

_"Who…are you?” I finally decided to speak up, not understanding what was going on in the least bit. I didn’t really expect a response, but…_

_“I’m you.” My eyes went wide as I stared at the glass, my mind not quite sure how to comprehend what I was hearing. I mean, I knew it was a dream, but still…something about this all just felt very strange. I opened my mouth to ask what in the hell was going on, but I was interrupted before I even got the chance. “You have to learn to control it.” Huh? I stared back at them in complete confusion, my head tilted to the side as I tried to understand what they meant. I finally settled on just asking, my mind not seeming to come up with anything that made sense, “Control what?” It grew silent again at that, and for a while I didn’t think I was going to get an answer. He just continued to stare off, but it wasn’t even like he was looking at me; it was more like he was looking_ through _me. I simply shook my head after a few moments, trying to show him that I didn’t understand what he was trying to say and hoping he got the message._

_“Your power.” I looked at him as if he were crazy, reeling back slightly as I wondered if I even heard him right. He’d answered my question, yeah, but I found myself even more confused than when I’d asked it. What the hell was he talking about, power? I didn’t have any power, at least not that I knew of. I went to speak again, my mind swimming with questions, but right as I was about to everything around me began to grow hazy. I suddenly felt as if the floor beneath me had disappeared and left me floating there, my body filling with a sensation like pins-and-needles. “Dipper?” I heard another voice calling to me now, and this time I immediately recognized it as Bills; he sounded distant, and it occurred to me that I was probably waking up. But I had so many question I still needed to ask!_

_I tried in vain to keep myself grounded, but everything in sight slowly began to turn to black. “Wait!” I called out in a desperate attempt to get answers, “What power are you talking about? Why do I need to control it?” I could barely even hear my own voice as it grew muffled, but there was no response. The last thing I saw was those glowing green eyes, and then everything was gone._

“Dipper?” I heard that voice again, this time much closer to me; I slowly opened my eyes, my gaze meeting with worried gold and yellow. He let out a sigh of relief when I looked back at him, his expression softening as he brought his hand to my cheek, “Are you okay? You didn’t seem like you were sleeping well.” I shook my head and grasped his hand in mine, the feeling of it calming me, “No I’m fine, I just…I had a weird dream, that’s all.” My mind wandered back to the conversation I’d had with ‘myself’, if I could even call him that.

I watched as Bill’s eyes grew confused and questioning, “What was it about?” I smiled softly as I sat up and stretched, my body feeling rejuvenated even though I hadn’t really gotten a good night’s sleep, “Nothing important, just some weird dream that didn’t really make any sense. I wouldn’t worry about it.” When I reopened my eyes, I noticed something that I wasn’t expecting to see: he looked shocked. He was staring at me with those wide and confused eyes, and at first I had no idea why. “Bill, what’s wrong?” He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally seeming to find the right words. “You’re…okay?” I didn’t really understand what he meant, and I couldn’t help but tilt my head as I looked at him curiously, “Well yeah, why wouldn’t I—?”

That’s when it hit me; I wasn’t in any pain. My body felt completely fine, in fact it felt better than it had in a long time. But last night I couldn’t even walk because of how messed up I was, and now I was just…back to normal? “Did you…?” I asked even though I already knew the answer from his reaction, but he shook his head to confirm anyways. “No, I didn’t do anything. I mean I planned to, but I wasn’t able to until all of my energy was stored back up.” His eyes were reluctant as they looked into mine, and I could tell that he was thinking something, but it was clear that he didn’t want to mention whatever it was.

“Bill, do you have any idea what’s going on?” He quickly averted his eyes, and that right there gave me my answer. I tried to grab him as he jumped up off of the bed, but he skillfully avoided my grasp and began making his way across the room. “I uhm…I’ll be right back, I need to check something.” No. I was not letting him get away when he clearly knew what was happening. “Bill, wait!” He completely stopped in his tracks, but not in a normal way; it was like something forced him to. But I didn’t even command him like I did last time, so I didn’t really understand why. But if there was one thing I knew, it was that something wasn’t right.

I heard him let out a sharp breath, but as he slowly turned back around to look at me, his expression wasn’t angry like I’d expected. No, his eyes were once again wide and shocked, his face warping into a mix of confusion and worry. And then came a look of realization, as if something had clicked in the back of his mind, and he let out a breath that I didn’t realize he was holding. “Uh oh.” Now I knew something was _definitely_ wrong.


	27. The Revelation (Finale Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo remember that one time when I said there was only one more chapter to go? Well, turns out that was a lie. I've been writing the finale for a while now, and all of the sudden I realized that it is WAY too long, much longer than I anticipated it to be. So, I decided to split it up into parts, like I did with the one section before. But, instead of making you guys wait ten million years for me to publish them all at once, because lord knows you've been waiting long enough, I'm just going to start publishing them now. Sorry it's been taking so long! Like I said, I wasn't anticipating on the finale being this long, so I was trying to hold out until it was complete before publishing it, but 10+ pages is a little too much reading for one chapter.
> 
> Anyways, here's the first part! Hopefully you guys are still sticking around to see this to completion, because I know it's been forever since the last update, and I hope you guys like it!  
> So without further or do, I give you Finale Part 1!
> 
> Hope you guys are having good days/nights, and I'll see you in the next one (which will be tomorrow)!  
> SLATS~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEMI-ROUGH SMUT! I know the story's already had smut, but I feel like I should warn you guys anyways. Also, possessive Bill.

“Uh oh?” I repeated the words, his reaction making me feel extremely anxious as I scrambled up from the bed and made my way over to him, “Why uh oh?” He put his hand over his mouth and grew quiet, his eyes trailing all over me as if he were studying me. After several moments of nothing I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell was going on, but he cut me off before I was able. “Dipper, I need you to come with me.” He grabbed my hand before I could protest and practically dragged me out of the room; he suddenly seemed very urgent, and I struggled to keep up with him as he led me downstairs and through the shack. No one else seemed to be awake yet, so I figured it must have still been pretty early; I was grateful for that, because Bill didn’t even give me time to throw on a pair of pants before dragging me out of the room, and my family seeing me in my underwear was definitely not on my to-do list.

Right as I was about to ask him where we were going, I found us standing at the bottom of the ladder that led up to the roof. “Come on,” He motioned for me to follow him as he began climbing up, bright light and a cool gust of air falling down on me as he pushed the hatch open. Even though I still had no idea what we were doing or what he was thinking, something about the way he spoke told me to follow him regardless.

We made our way out onto the platform and stopped, and I couldn’t help but stare at him in complete confusion as he watched me. His eyes were looking into mine with a reluctant, almost guilty look to them, but I couldn’t figure out why; that made me really nervous. “Bill,” I finally spoke up, my voice laced with caution as I tried to figure out what he was thinking, “Why did you bring me up here?” The guilt in his eyes only seemed to multiply at that. “Forgive me for this.”

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Before I could even comprehend what was going on his hands were on my chest, pushing me with all the force he had in one powerful shove. My eyes went wide and my brain seemed to shut down; the feeling of the stable roof beneath my feet disappeared, my body becoming impossibly weightless and heavy all at the same time. I could feel the breath leave me, my eyes squeezing shut on instinct as I waited for the inevitably hard and painful impact of the ground. Strangely enough, it didn’t come…but something else did. Anger.

My eyes flew open, my mind overcome with rage as my gaze met with his. “What the hell do you think you’re doing Bill, are you trying to kill me!?” I yelled in exasperation, not even noticing that his eyes were now wide and shocked once again. “Holy shit…” He barely whispered the words as he stepped up to the edge of the platform…wait, the edge!? I looked down, my body growing panicked as I saw that I wasn’t actually _on_ the roof anymore. I was just sort of…floating there. The fear hit me like a rock, the weightlessness suddenly leaving me as I began to fall again, but Bill caught me before I was able to. He took a step back as he pulled me back onto the roof, his arms wrapped around me in an extremely tight embrace. The anger had now become replaced with complete and total shock, and I was suddenly very grateful for his support, my legs feeling as if they would give out at any second. I looked over my shoulder and stared at the spot I’d been hovering in, “Bill…what the hell just happened?”

“Dipper,” I glanced up to see him staring down at me with wide, excited looking eyes, “I don’t know how to say this, but…I don’t think you’re human anymore.” I let out an exasperated laugh; he had to be joking, right? “W-wait, what!? What does that even—mfph!” I was completely taken aback as his lips came down onto mine, stopping my question short. He kissed me passionately, his arms tightening around me as he pulled me closer. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, his hand tangling in my hair as his tongue found its way into my mouth. I let out a muffled moan, my mind still clouded with the shock of how sudden it was, and it took me a moment to actually comprehend what was going on.

A gust of wind and blue light surrounded us before I could protest, and we suddenly found ourselves back in my room. “B-Bill, what are you—??” He practically shoved me, my back hitting the door with a thud as he pressed his body right against mine. His lips latched onto mine within a matter of seconds, the kiss rough and lustful and filled with desire. He was being so forceful all of the sudden, and I realized that…well, it was actually really hot. Everything was hazy, my temperature feeling as if it were rising by the second, and I found myself clutching onto the front of his shirt, the fabric balled into my hands as his tongue moved against mine.

One of his hands slid down to grab my ass and push my hips into his; I threw my head back, a heated and breathy moan escaping my lips as he started grinding into me. My knees grew weak beneath me, and I realized that it was suddenly very difficult to keep my legs from collapsing. That didn’t last long, however; he leaned down, his free hand moving under my knee and hoisting up one of my legs to keep me steady. Or at least I _thought_ that was what he was trying to do.

My body jolted as his other hand suddenly slipped inside my underwear, giving my ass another firm squeeze before his fingers started rubbing against my entrance. They felt wet, as if they were coated in a slick substance, and I let out a shocked gasp as a strange tingling made its way into my hips. “W-what are…?” The words left me as a finger pushed inside, my hips bucking forward on instinct as he started slowly sliding it in and out with ease. My lower body felt like it was on fire, but…not in a bad way. Another finger was added, but instead of the pain I’d been expecting, an intense wave of pleasure washed over me instead. “Bill...” My voice was dripping with lust as I moaned his name, and I had to bite my lip in an attempt to keep it down.

His fingers were gone a moment later, leaving me feeling empty and dissatisfied; my eyes fluttered open in confusion, but I didn’t even have the chance to ask why he’d stopped as he let go of my leg, my underwear suddenly falling to the floor at my feet. I was back in the same position a few seconds later, but this time it felt much more compromising, the lower half of my body now completely exposed. My face went red as I tried to free my once again captured leg, a wave of embarrassment hitting me as I realized just how revealing this was, but his hand wasn’t budging. I watched as his free hand moved down to fumble with his zipper, and it took my lust-clouded brain a moment to register what exactly he was doing. A feeling of excitement shot through my body like lightening, my heart racing in anticipation.

I still didn’t understand why he was being so forward all of the sudden, but I didn’t need to wonder long. His eyes locked with mine, my breath hitching in my throat as I felt his tip press against my entrance; his voice was somehow both possessive and sweet as he whispered, his words making any and all thoughts in my mind completely vanish. “Now you’ll never leave me again.” He thrust into me hard, my hand shooting up to cover my mouth and keep me from crying out in pleasure. The moan came out muffled as I threw my head back against the door, my teeth sinking into the side of my thumb as I tried to keep quiet.

He let out a breathy laugh, his nails digging into my skin as he gripped my waist with his free hand to keep me steady, “Better keep quiet Dipper…you wouldn’t want your family to hear us, would you?” It came out as more of a challenge than a question, and another quick thrust told me he wasn’t actually concerned with being caught. In fact, if I didn’t know any better I’d say that he _wanted_ to be caught. The dark smirk that spread across his face made me realize that maybe I _didn’t_ know any better. He started thrusting into me mercilessly, his movements rough and deep as he pulled my hips down into his.

My body began to shake as I clung to him desperately, trying in vain to stifle my loud, heated moans. He suddenly grabbed my hand, pulling it away from my mouth and lacing his fingers with mine as he kissed me passionately. Small whimpers continued to slip past my lips as his tongue moved with mine; the kiss was hot and messy, and I could feel a warm wetness begin to spill from the corner of my mouth and slowly trickle down my chin. I threw my arms around his neck, my fingers clutching onto the back of his shirt and tangling in his hair as he continued to pound into me, my body pressing further and further into the door with each thrust.

I could feel a sweet tingling in my lower stomach, and I knew I couldn’t hold on much longer. “B-Bill, I-I can’t—” I pulled back to try and tell him, but his lips were on mine again before I could even finish. His grip on my hips tightened, his thrusts growing more and more erratic as he sucked and nipped at my lower lip, his pants and pleasured groans mixing with mine as they filled the room. I could feel my body reaching its limit; I tried to cover my mouth, but my wrist was grabbed and pushed back against the door before I was able to. “W-wait, Bill, I—!” His thrusts only grew stronger, not missing my sweet spot even once as he had his way with me. All of the forcefulness, the roughness, the possessiveness…it was driving me crazy. It was making my body react in ways that I didn’t even know it could, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, I _loved_ every second.

I didn’t even have time to react as I was pushed over the edge; I threw my head back, my mind going blank and my body jolting as I cried out and gave in to the mind-blowing pleasure. “F-fuck, Dipper!” I felt his teeth sinking into the nape of my neck as he let out a low, almost animalistic groan, his hips jerking forward in one final, deep thrust. I could feel him shaking, his breath heavy as he slowly pulled out and let go of my leg. We both slid down to the floor, our bodies exhausted but our arms refusing to untangle from one another.

My mind slowly started to return to me as I came down from my high, and that’s when I realized it. “Bill!” I shoved him, my voice flustered and my face beat red as I looked at him; he had a giant grin on his face, his eyes triumphant and his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter. He hadn’t given me the chance to cover my mouth, and the sounds of my loud cries of pleasure were still ringing in my ears. “W-what if my family heard us!?” He burst out laughing, clearly not able to hold it in any longer, “I’m sorry Pine Tree, but I had to! Besides, it’s not my fault you can’t keep your voice down.”

“You better hope they’re all still asleep, or I swear to god I’m gonna kill you.” I crossed my arms and glared at him half-heartedly; I wasn’t really mad at him, I just _really_ hoped no one was awake to hear us. There’s no way I could handle that level of embarrassment. His hand on my cheek brought me out of my thoughts, his eyes staring deeply into mine as a sweet smile spread across his face. “I really do love you Dipper…” His voice was soft and loving, and I couldn’t help but smile back as I stared into those beautiful gold and yellow eyes. “I love you too.” I leaned forward to give him a soft peck on the lips, my arms hanging loosely over his shoulders. I couldn’t stay mad at him.

My body stiffened as I suddenly started to feel a really strange sensation; I could feel my face heat up even more when I realized what it was. “U-uhm…I think I need to take a shower.” I pulled back a bit, my eyes trailing to the side as I squirmed uncomfortably in my spot. He tilted his head curiously as he looked at me, and I watched as his eyes changed from confusion to realization in a matter of seconds. He leaned in, a mischievous smirk on his face as he whispered lowly into my ear, “What’s the matter Dipper, don’t like the feeling of my cum inside you?” My eyes went wide as I shoved him again, completely taken aback, “B-Bill!” He burst out laughing, his hands clutching onto his sides as he looked at me, “Oh you’re reactions are just so priceless!”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, trying to play off just how flustered I was as I grabbed my underwear and stood up to slip them on. “I-I’ll be back, okay? I just need to get cleaned up.” He gazed up at me with innocent eyes, “What, don’t want me to join you?” Oh he was really loving this, wasn’t he? “A-as tempting as that sounds, and believe me it does, I need to _actually_ get clean. And, well, how do I put this?” I looked down at him with a timid and hinting smile, “I don’t think that’ll be possible if we go in together.” He chuckled and leaned back on his hands, not even bothering to cover himself up as he grinned playfully, “Next time.” It was more of a statement than a question, but I still couldn’t help as I nodded in agreement, “Yeah, next time.”


	28. Awkward Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we go, the next chapter as promised! Sorry it's so late, I've been pretty busy all day so I haven't been able to get on to upload it until now. But anyways, I hope you guys like it! And once again, the next part will be going up tomorrow as well.

With that I turned and left the room, making sure to keep quiet as I tiptoed down the stairs and to the bathroom. Luckily it didn’t seem like anyone was up yet, and I let out a sigh of relief as I turned on the hot water and climbed into the shower. It was an awkward, messy situation to say the least, but after about 20 minutes I finally managed to get clean. I wrapped myself up in a towel and made my way back to the room; I could have sworn that I heard movement in the kitchen, but I didn’t really want to stop and check quite yet, so I just continued on my way.

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, my eyes landing on a clean and once again dressed Bill. He was wearing his yellow hoodie again, along with a pair of black pants, and I realized that he no longer had his eye covered anymore; probably because there was no need, since everyone now knew it was him. His hair was still a little bit messy, but other than that there were no signs of what had happened. I, on the other hand, was a complete wreck.

My eyes widened as I stepped up to the mirror, my face once again tinted pink as I stared at my reflection in both awe and embarrassment. My hair was still all of the place, my lips were red and swollen, and my neck was covered in hickeys, not to mention the huge bit mark that grew more and more noticeable the longer I looked at it. “Shit,” I said under my breath as I traced my fingers of the dark blotches, “There’s no way I can hide these.” A snicker from behind me reminded me that I wasn’t alone, and I turned to shoot a heated glare at the smug blonde. “I-it’s not funny, Bill!” He sauntered over to me, his arms wrapping around my bare waist as he grinned, “Oh but it is, Pine Tree. Now let’s get you dressed…unless you wanna go for round two?” He wiggled his eyebrow suggestively, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I shoved him, “No thanks, I’m good. Besides, us humans have limits you know? It’s not like I can just go at it forever.”

“But you’re not human anymore, Dipper.” Oh…I’d completely forgotten about that. My mouth hung open slightly as I looked at him, still not quite able to comprehend what he was saying. “Yeah, I know you said that, but…if I’m not human, then what _am_ I now?” He tilted his head, giving me a look as though I should have already known the answer; that pretty much told me right there, but I waited for him to respond anyways. “You’re a demon now, Dipper. Like me.” Yeah, that’s what I’d thought. But…I still didn’t really understand how this was possible.

“A demon? Are you sure?” His face scrunched up as if he were thinking really hard on something; he suddenly turned me around, his hands on my shoulders and his voice serious as he looked at me intently. “Dipper, your body completely healed itself in _one night_. You stopped me using _only your voice_. Hell, I just watched you _levitate_ off the edge of the freaking _roof_. Your eyes were glowing green Dipper. You didn’t see it, but I did. I can say with 100% certainty that you’re a demon, only we have powers like that.”

“I know I know,” I sighed and ran my fingers through my wet hair, grasping one of his hands with the other, “It’s just…this is still a really difficult concept for me to grasp, okay? I believe you, I really do, but this is something that’s going to take time getting used to. I’ve never been anything _but_ human, and even with all of the supernatural things I’ve seen, this is still kind of much for me. It’s just a little overwhelming, you know?”

His gaze softened, a sweet smile making its way onto his face as he gripped my hand reassuringly and nodded. “Don’t worry Dipper, I understand. You know that I’ll be here to help you through it all. And well…to be completely honest with you, even though I didn’t actually mean for this to happen, I would do it again. Because now…” His eyes were filled with emotion as his hand moved to rest on my check, his thumb rubbing lightly on my skin, “I don’t have to worry about losing you anymore.” I let out a shaky breath as I held his hand with mine, and as I stared into those eyes I realized that maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. I still didn’t quite understand what exactly I’d gotten myself into, but…if it meant that Bill and I could finally be together, then I didn’t care. Whatever happened, we would be able to face it together, and that was enough for me.

A question suddenly popped into my mind, and I knew that I had to ask it. “Wait, so you weren’t sure that I was a demon when you brought me up on the roof?” He blinked as if my question had caught him off guard, a confused look in his eyes, “No, why?” I couldn’t help but make a face as I crossed my arms and looked at him sternly, “Then what exactly would you have done if I’d actually fallen off?” He paused, his expression going blank as if he were trying to process what I was saying; a grin started to spread across his face a moment later as he brought his hand up to cup my cheek, “Do you really think I would have let that happen? I would have stopped you before you hit the ground, Dipper. You should know me better than that.”

“Yeah, well it was still dangerous.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes before flashing him a half-hearted glare, but it didn’t last long; he gave me an apologetic smile, and I knew that I couldn’t stay mad at him. “I know, it was stupid of me to do that. I just wanted to be sure, and I couldn’t think of another way to force your powers to activate on the spot. I should have thought of something else though, and I’m sorry that I put you through that.” I sighed as I looked at him, my arms slowly falling back to my sides as I gave him a soft smile, “It’s okay Bill, I forgive you. Just, next time maybe give me some type of warning before you push me off of a roof, okay? Or anything, for that matter.” He nodded and chuckled as he pulled his hand away, “Okay, deal.”

I leaned forward to give him a quick but passionate kiss, my attention then turning to my dresser at the realization that I was still only wearing a towel. “I’m gonna get dressed now.” He chuckled and nodded, and I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way over to grab some clothes. I threw on a maroon t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants; I still felt a bit tired and sore after our little exploit, so I wanted to make sure I put on something comfortable. I walked back over to the mirror and straightened my hair out as best I could before taking one last good look. There was absolutely no way for me to hide the marks, so I was kind of screwed there.

“Hey, uhm,” I looked back at him with a timid smile and pointed towards my bruised skin, “These will go away quickly, right? I mean, my body healed pretty fast before, so…” He gave me a devious smirk as he slowly shook his head, “Sorry to say Pine Tree, but _I_ left those marks. They’re gonna be there for a bit. I mean, I _could_ make them go away, but where would be the fun in that?” I could feel my face heating up as I huffed and crossed my arms, but the look on his face told me he wasn’t going to be of any help. Looks like I was just going to have to suffer until they healed on their own.

We made our way downstairs, and I immediately noticed a delicious smell wafting from the kitchen. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until my stomach started to growl, and that’s when I remembered that I actually hadn’t eaten in a while. I stopped in the kitchen doorway, my eyes landing on Mabel, who was at the stove, and Ford, who was sitting at the table with his face in a journal. “Oh hey Dipper, Bill, you guys are just in time for breakfast!” Mabel chirped happily when she noticed us, Bill walking up beside me and wrapping his arm around my waist.

I was more focused on Ford, though. His eyes went slightly wide when Mabel spoke, but he didn’t actually look up at us. Instead he coughed awkwardly and practically shoved his face right into the pages of his book, and I could have sworn a caught a glimpse of pink on his cheeks. I tried to brush it off as I went to sit at the table across from him, Bill following closely behind and taking up the seat next to mine. Ford didn’t even say anything as we sat down, only seeming to pull the journal closer to his face; a strange, uncomfortable silence filled the room at that, aside from Mabel’s humming, and I could practically feel the awkwardness in the air. I reached forward to pour myself a glass of juice from the pitcher that was sitting on the table, and that’s when I realized that Ford wasn’t even _reading_ the journal, he was just sort of staring at it. What was up with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all of you guys who guessed right about Dipper, congrats! That was actually one of my most important features when I first started to plan out this story; I knew I wanted him to become a demon, I just wasn't sure how I wanted it to happen. Then when I decided to introduce Abadeth, that gave me the perfect opportunity to incorporate it. An explanation of how it was made possible will be coming in the next chapter, so don't worry! I'm sure all of your questions will be answered by the time this fic is over; or I hope so, at least lol
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it!  
> And as always, I hope you guys are having good days/nights, and I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!  
> ~SLATS <3


	29. The Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Get ready for a long chapter, cause this one is definitely longer than they normally are. Also, I know I said this before, but I mean it for realsies this time: there is going to be ONE MORE CHAPTER! I know, bittersweet, isn't it? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this long-ass chapter, and hopefully its not TOO long to the point that its hard to read all at once.
> 
> And as always, I hope you guys are all having good days/nights, and I'll see you all in the next one!  
> ~SLATS <3

“So Ford,” I heard Bill speak up from beside me, and as I took a sip of my orange juice I glanced over to see something interesting: his hands were folded on the table in front of him as he leaned forward, an extremely devious smirk on his face. “How does it feel to know that I’m fucking your great-nephew?”

I practically chocked on my juice, the majority of it spraying out of my mouth and onto the table as I coughed and hacked uncontrollably. “B-Bill!?” I finally managed to speak again, my eyes wide and shocked as I stared at him in disbelief. He kept his eyes glued on Ford, his expression never changing as he grinned smugly. I slowly glanced over to see him, his face beat red and his hands gripping tightly onto his journal as he refused to meet my gaze. “Wait…don’t tell me…y-you…?” I suddenly realized it, complete mortification in my voice as his eyes finally met with mine. “Yeah, I uhm…I was down here in the kitchen.” He stopped and coughed awkwardly, clearly not wanting to continue, but I already knew what he was trying to say; he’d heard us. Well, he heard me, to be exact.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” I shoved my face into my hands, mentally slapping myself as I tried not to die of embarrassment. I kicked Bill as hard as I could under the table and shot him a heated glare, but that only managed to make him laugh. God, he could be so infuriating sometimes.

“What are you guys talking about?” My head shot up as I heard Stan’s voice, and I watched as he sat down at the table next to Ford. Bill opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly slapped my hand over it before he could, “N-nothing! We weren’t talking about anything!” He clearly didn’t buy it, an interested look in his eyes as he looked back and forth between the three of us. Bill grabbed my hand to pull it away as he chuckled and shook his head, and it was clear that he was only trying to fuel the fire. “Oh, you little…” I growled through my teeth as I balled my fists, not even noticing as the lights in the room started to flicker. His gold and yellow eyes locked with mine, and I could have sworn I saw a hint of excitement in them. “Why don’t I tell him about—?”

“Bill, shut up!” He stopped dead, and I jumped as a loud pop sounded from above us, the room suddenly growing darker; I slowly looked up to see that the bulb in the kitchen light had completely shattered. Ford’s chair scraped loudly against the wood as he jumped up, and I watched as it crashed to the floor, “What the hell was that!?” Oh shit, this was bad. I put my hands up in defense as I tried to figure out what to tell him, but that’s when I realized he wasn’t talking to me. No, he was talking to Bill.

After several moments of no response, he slammed his hands down on the table before pointing at me, his infuriated eyes not once leaving Bill’s, “What did you do to him!?” Still nothing. “What. Did. You. DO?!” He grabbed a fistful of Bill’s shirt in his hand as he leaned over the table, and that’s when I realized it was time to step in. “Ford, stop!” He froze up, the room growing completely silent, and I could suddenly feel everyone’s eyes on me. “Just…calm down, okay? Let me explain.” His grip slowly released as he moved to sit back in his seat, his gaze on me as he waited for what I had to say.

“He…he had no choice, Ford. I was _dead_ , alright? I was gone, and I still would be if he hadn’t…well, he…I don’t really know how to explain it, actually.” I let out a shaky breath as I ran my hand through my hair, desperately trying to find the right words. “Dipper,” I felt a hand rest lightly on my shoulder, and as I glanced over I saw Bill give me a small nod, “Let me handle this.” I sighed and leaned back in my seat, hoping that he would be able to explain things better than I could.

“Look Ford, before you say anything I didn’t _mean_ to do this. Hell, I didn’t even know that I _could._ How do I explain this? Well, let me put it to you this way; in my dimension, there are only a certain number of demons that can exist at one time. I’m of course the most powerful, so I’m the only one that’s actually able to kill my people for real, you know? Now, when I got to Dipper, he was already gone. There was no _way_ I could have brought him back with just my regular powers, it just wouldn’t have been possible. But I was desperate, and I did something that I didn’t even think _was_ possible. After I killed Abadeth, the guy that kidnapped Dipper, I somehow…well, how do I put this? I somehow took his energy and forced it into Dipper’s body. That’s how I brought him back, and that’s why he has these abilities now; long story short, I turned him into a demon, like me. I guess the best way to explain it is that he sort of…took Abadeth’s place.”

“Wait wait wait, what?” I gave him a look of disbelief as I cut him off, “You knew this the _whole_ time and you didn’t tell me?” He shrugged and flashed me a guilty smile, “Well, I was planning on telling you after I figured it out for sure, but we got a little…distracted.” I blinked, my gaze slowly trailing down to the table as I thought over what he’d just said. I didn’t really know how to feel about it, to be honest. Abadeth’s powers, the ones he used to kill me, were now _inside of me_ ; how was I supposed to react to that?

“Dipper,” A hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality, my attention turning back to Bill as he gave me an apologetic look, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this sooner, I just wanted to be 100% sure before I said anything. I knew that you wouldn’t be happy hearing this, but I didn’t want to keep it from you.” I slowly nodded, resting my hand on top of his and squeezing it lightly, “It’s okay Bill, you don’t have to apologize…but I do wanna ask something.” A question suddenly popped into my head, one that I hoped he had the answer to, “What exactly were his powers?”

“Well, while all of us have a pretty wide range of powers we can use, most demons have an ability that’s unique to them; their specialty, you could say. Abadeth’s was that he could control people using his voice. That’s probably how he was able to draw you away in the first place, and why you’ve been able to make everyone listen to you more recently. However, something interesting that I’ve noticed is that your powers seem to be linked with your emotions, whereas that wasn’t the case with Abadeth. It may be because you were originally human, but I’m not entirely sure…either way, it’s something we’re going to need to keep an eye on. Especially because of things like this.” I watched as he pointed upwards, my eyes following his path to the now broken lightbulb.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew he was right. I mean, he said something like this had never happened before, so who knew what we were even dealing with here? What if my powers were too strong? What if I couldn’t learn to control them? What if I was dangerous? My gaze trailed over to Stan and Ford, and I suddenly felt very unsettled. What if I…?

“I won’t let that happen.” Bill’s stern voice once again snapped me out of my thoughts, his eyes looking intently into mine as his tone grew hushed, “You don’t ever have to worry about stuff like that, okay? Everything’s going to be alright, I promise you.” Something about the way he said it made me believe him, and I gave him a small smile as I nodded, “Thank you.” A cough suddenly sounded from across the table and my eyes turned over to Ford, who was clearly trying to get our attention. He looked as though he were trying to process all of the information, and even Mabel had ceased her cooking to come listen in, an interested expression on her face. Stan, on the other hand, looked extremely confused, like everything Bill said had been in Latin or something.

“Wait, so let me get this straight,” Stan finally decided to speak up, his eyes moving back and forth between Bill and I, “You’re saying that Dipper’s not human anymore? What exactly does that mean?” Bill sighed and folded his hands on the table in front of him as his attention turned to Stan, “Let me put it to you this way: Dipper died as a human, and there’s no way to bring humans back from the dead. But even though I couldn’t bring him back as a _human_ , I _could_ bring him back as something else; a demon. He’s still the same exact person that he was before, except now he has all of the abilities that Abadeth had as a demon. Is this making any sense?” I watched as Stan nodded, slowly seeming to come to terms with what Bill was telling him. “So who exactly was this Abadeth guy?”

I couldn’t help but tense in my seat as I thought back to him, that same sickening feeling making its way into my stomach. “Long story short, he was someone that betrayed me a long time ago, and he wanted revenge for the punishment I’d put him through. That revenge was to go after Dipper, because he knew how important he is to me.” Bill’s hand moved to rest on my knee under the table, and I realized that he must have known what was going through my head. “Dipper,” Stan’s tone grew low and serious as he leaned forward a bit, “What did he do to you?”

I completely froze up. My eyes fell to my lap as I wrung my hands, trying desperately to block out the memories that were threatening to resurface. “I…don’t want to talk about it…” I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, Bill’s most of all; I could tell that he was studying me, but I refused to say anything else on the matter. The room grew quiet at that, uncomfortably quiet, and I knew that I had to change the subject…quick. “Look guys, all that matters is that it’s all over now, okay? I’m alright, and more importantly, I’m alive, and that’s all thanks to Bill. He may not have meant for this to happen, but if he hadn’t done what he did back there, then I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. This is just something that we’re all going to have to adjust to, me most of all. But you guys don’t have to worry about me, okay? It’s not like this is a bad thing.”

I glanced up as I heard a small sigh from Ford, watching as he slowly nodded and gave me a small but reluctant smile, “You’re right. The most important thing is that you’re safe, and if you say that you’re really okay, I believe you.” My eyes trailed over to Stan who was nodding in agreement, “Yeah, you know we’ll stand by you no matter what, kid.” I could feel Mabel’s hand on my shoulder, and as I saw her bright and cheery smile, I couldn’t help but smile back, “You’ll always be my bro bro, human or not.” I looked back and forth between the three of them as a wave of relief washed over me; everything was going to be okay. I wasn’t really sure how they would take the news at first, but I was really glad that things turned out better than expected. They were my family, after all; I guess they deserved more credit than I was giving them. “Thank you guys…” I said softly, all of my anxieties finally seeming to disappear.

Mabel clapped her hands together and walked over to the stove, returning a moment later with several plates in her hand, “Well, now that we got that all worked out, who’s hungry?” I watched as she set the plates down on the table, and as my eyes landed on the food I remembered just how hungry I actually was. I thanked her before picking up my fork, almost immediately starting to dig in; I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days, which only seemed to make everything taste 10x better than usual. And Mabel’s cooking was delicious, so that was really saying something.

We all chatted as we ate our breakfast, the atmosphere in the room growing calm and content. It felt really good to have Bill there with us, like he was a part of the family, and it seemed that he and Ford were getting along well. I was surprised that neither of them tried to bring up what had happened earlier, but I figured Ford had probably forgotten about it with everything else that went down; I was more than happy to keep it that way. I was definitely going to have to find a way to get Bill back for that later, though.

We finished up, and as I helped Mabel wash the dishes I could once again feel Bill’s eyes on me; his gaze was intense, like he was trying to figure something out, but I wasn't sure what. “So Dipper,” My attention turned to Mabel as she suddenly spoke up, her voice curious, “What are you and Bill going to do now?” I tilted my head as I looked back at her, not quite understanding what she was asking. “You know, now that you guys are together and all. Are you gonna go back with him to his dimension?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I trailed off, not really sure how to answer her, “We haven’t talked about it at all, so I don’t know what we’ll do. Why?” She stopped as she set the last dish in the drying rack, flashing me a small smile, “I think you should, after the summer’s over and all. I know you don’t really have on plans on what you want to do now that school’s finished, so why not go with him? It’s not like anything’s really tying you here.” I couldn’t help but make a face as I thought over what she was saying, “Well, what about you guys?” She chuckled and shook her head, bringing up one of her hands to rest on my shoulder as she looked into my eyes, “You can always come see us, you know? Besides, I think it would be good for you. Just something to consider.”

With that she turned and walked back over to the table, and as I looked over my eyes met directly with Bill’s; I wonder if he’d been listening? He motioned for me to come over as he stood from the table, so I made my way across the room before stopping in front of him. “Dipper, can I talk to you?” He motioned in the direction of the doorway, and I realized that he probably wanted to head into another room for more privacy. My gaze trailed over to Stan, Ford and Mabel, who were all sitting back at the table and chatting amongst themselves. “Hey guys, we’ll be right back, okay?” They all nodded in agreement, so with that I took Bill’s hand and let him lead me out of the room.

We stopped at the foot of the steps, his hand not leaving mine as he turned to look at me, a strange look in his eyes; it was serious, yet he almost looked…nervous? “What’s wrong Bill? What did you wanna talk about?” He took a deep breath before leaning in, his voice lowering a bit, “Well…I heard what Mabel said, Dipper. I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while, and I figure now is a good a time to ask as any.” He grew quiet at that, his fingers lacing with mine as held tightly onto my hands, “Dipper…I want you to come back with me, to my dimension. We can wait until the summer’s over if you want, so that you can spend time with your family, but…I want you to come live with me.”

He stared at me intently, an anxious look in his eyes as he waited for my response. He looked so scared, as if he expected me to say no. My heart was beating so fast and loud, I wondered if maybe he could hear it; time felt as though it had come to a complete stop as we stood there, hand in hand, and I realized that I knew my answer before he’d even asked the question. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, and I couldn’t stop the happy, excited smile that spread across my face as I squeezed his hands reassuringly. “Yes,” I breathed out, leaning forward to press my forehead to his, “I would love to go with you, Bill.”


	30. After All (FINAL)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS LIGHT SMUT! I know, again. This is like a new record for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, here it is guys...the FINAL chapter. It feels like it took forever to finish, so I really hope you guys like it. I'm also pretty glad that I somehow managed to end it with exactly 30 chapters? I didn't plan that at all, believe it or not.
> 
> But without further or do, I hope you guys enjoy the new and final chapter of "Remember Me."

“I would love to go with you, Bill.” That phrase repeated in my mind as I took my first steps through the castle doors. It had been about four months since Bill and I made the decision to move in together, but we’d decided to wait until the summer came to its end so that I could spend some more time with my family. We waited to see everyone off before we left; Stan and Ford were heading to Alaska for their next big adventure, and Mabel was heading back to California to start college. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t sad to say goodbye, especially to Mabel. We’d been together for so many years, and this was the first real time that we were separating, so watching the back of her car as she pulled away was much harder than I thought it was going to be. But I knew that both of us were off to start our new lives, and I also knew that no matter where she was, she would be okay. She would be the happy-go-lucky, outgoing girl she always was. Not to mention I promised to come see her and the rest of the family as often as I could.

I looked around in awe as we stepped inside, coming into a huge, open hallway. As Bill held my hand in his and led me through various halls and rooms, I realized that everything began to look familiar. Strangely enough, it felt like I belonged there…like I was home. Thankfully there was no one else there at the moment, so we were able to walk around uninterrupted.

He slowed as we neared a pair of double doors, stopping when we reached them and turning to look at me. “Do you remember what this is?” I looked at them for a moment, my eyes trailing over the tall entryway before turning back to meet with his, “Is it…the bedroom?” A smile spread across his face as he nodded and slowly pushed it open, a soft creak echoing through the hall. I went to take a step into the room, but I immediately froze in my place. Memories came flooding back to me all at once; I could see Bill on the floor, cradling my body in his arms. I could see the both of us intertwined on the bed, our bodies moving together in a fit of passion. I could see it all…but more than that, I could _feel_ it all. It was a strange, bittersweet mix of emotions, to say the least.

“Dipper?” I jumped slightly as a hand came to rest on my shoulder, the visions and feelings all coming to a halt as the contact brought me back to reality, “Are you okay?” I let out a deep breath as I nodded, running my fingers loosely through my hair, “Y-yeah sorry, I just…I remember being here.” He stepped in front of me, his hands on my shoulders as he looked deeply into my eyes, “That stuff is all in the past, Dipper. All that matters is that we’re together…just you and me. Right here, and right now.” He slowly leaned in to give me a soft and gentle kiss, and I couldn’t help but smile as he pulled back. “Yeah, you’re absolutely right.” I took his hands in mine and held them close to me, “I’m so glad that I’m here with you, Bill. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”

A huge grin spread across his face as he wrapped his arms around me and hoisted me up into the air, completely catching me off guard. I threw my arms around his neck and clung onto him for dear life as he spun me around, “W-whoa, hey!” He let out the happiest, most heart-melting laugh I’d ever heard from him, and I couldn’t keep myself from laughing as well. It just felt so good to be there with him, and nothing made me happier than to be in his arms. He set me down a moment later, his hands moving up to cup my cheeks as he started planting kisses all over my face.

“I love you so much, Dipper.” He stopped as he looked into my eyes, that goofy smile not leaving his face for even a second, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that having me there meant the world to him. “ _You_ mean the world to me.” He gave me a quick but passionate kiss before pulling away, his fingers lacing with mine, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that there was something he wanted to say.

“Dipper…there’s something I want to give you.” He made his way over to what I assumed was a dresser, and I watched as he grabbed a small box off of the top, one that seemed to be made of some type of crystal. He stepped back over to me as he held it in his hands, a small and almost shy looking smile on his face. “I’ve been waiting for a while, but I feel like now is finally the perfect time…” He held it up so that I could see it as he slowly lifted the top, opening it to reveal what seemed to be a necklace; I say that because it wasn’t like any necklace I’d _ever_ seen before. It was a medium sized pendant in the shape of a triangle, and it was outlined with a strange, glowing yellow metal. The light it seemed to give off was interesting enough, but what really caught my attention was what was _inside_ the triangle: it looked like a galaxy. It was moving and everything, as if an actual piece of space had been put inside of it, and I couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

“W-what is this…?” I breathed out, my eyes completely fixed on it in awe. “Just something special I’ve been saving for you.” He spoke softly, his voice kind and loving as he went to move behind me. I watched over my shoulder as he took the necklace out and set the box down on a nearby table, stepping up to me a moment later and beginning to put it around my neck. I grasped the pendant in my hand, a strange energy practically radiating off of it. I wasn’t really sure how to describe it, but it felt really nice regardless; it was like a calm, happy feeling.

I could hear a small “click” as he secured the clasp in place, and at that moment it felt as if a bolt of electricity shot through me. I couldn’t help but stumble backwards into Bill, his arms wrapping around my waist to keep me steady as I tried my best to catch my breath. It didn’t actually hurt; it was more surprising than anything, and it left me with a strange tingling sensation all throughout my body. “Whoa, what just happened…?” I brought my hand to my forehead as I steadied myself, the strange feeling finally seeming to dissipate. I turned to face Bill, my confusion only growing when I saw that he had a huge, bright smile on his face. He didn’t answer at first, he simply took my hands in his and held them tightly, his eyes staring deeply into mine. Then after a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up again.

“Dipper…I want to be with you forever. I want to wake up next to you, have you by my side…that’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He let go of one of my hands, instead moving to hold the pendant so that I could see it clearly. “This is a symbol of that. It shows that my heart belongs to you, and that it will only _ever_ belong to you. This connects us in a way that nothing else can; it links our energies together, merges them in a sense. I’m not really sure how to explain it in human terms…”

“Wait,” My eyes went wide as I began to process what he was saying, my heart feeling as though it were beating a hundred times per second, “Are you…proposing to me?” He tilted his head slightly as if he were thinking, the corners of his lips turning up into a shy smile, “Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, this is much different than what humans consider marriage to be, but—”

“Yes!” I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me, my mind completely overtaken with happiness, “My answer is yes!” He let out a loud sigh of relief, his arms wrapping tightly around my waist as he moved back a bit to look at me, “Really?” His eyes were wide and excited as they looked into mine, and I couldn’t help but smile at just how cute he was, “Of course my answer is yes! Is that even a question??” I laughed happily as he buried his face in the nape of neck, dipping me slightly as he started to leave kisses everywhere. He kissed along my neck and shoulders, then up to my cheeks, my chin, my forehead; he even left soft kisses on my eyelids and the tip of my nose. “B-Bill, you’re tickling me!” I giggled as I pushed him playfully, which only managed to make his hold on me stronger.

“I’m never letting go,” He whispered as he held me close, his lips meeting with mine in a soft, passionate kiss. “Good,” I smiled as I pulled back, my fingers running lightly through his hair as I stared into those beautiful eyes, “I never want you to.” A knock came at the door, drawing both of our attentions as we pulled away from one another. “Sir,” A female voice sounded from the other side, but whoever it was didn’t actually come in, “You’re wanted in the great hall.” We exchanged looks before he called back to them, “Alright I’ll be there in a moment.” I sighed as I turned the pendant over in my hands to study it; I expected him to just go ahead, but as I looked back up I realized he wasn’t budging. “You wanna come with me?” Now that, I really wasn’t expecting. “Me?" I tilted my head curiously as I looked at him, completely confused, “Are…are you sure?”

He chuckled softly and nodded as he held his hand out to me, “Yeah, come on.” I took it reluctantly, our fingers lacing together as he opened the door and led me out of the room. We walked until we came to another set of double doors, but these ones were _huge_ , and I figured they must have led to the great hall. I waited for him to open them, but he just stood in his place; I turned to look at him curiously, a strange and knowing smile on his face as he motioned for me to go first. I wasn’t really sure what he was up to, but I shrugged it off and pushed the doors open.

I was completely taken aback as I scanned the room; there were dozens of people in there on either side, some in demon from and some in human form, but all of their eyes falling on us as the room grew completely silent. Well, on me, to be exact. I was the focus of everyone’s attention, and it made me feel very uncomfortable, especially since no one was actually saying anything. “What the hell…?” I thought to myself as I looked over them all, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Then came something I really didn’t see coming.

They all slowly began to kneel, their heads down; at first I figured it was probably just what they did when Bill came into the room…he was their ruler, after all. But as I looked back over my shoulder, I saw that Bill was several feet behind me, that strange smile still playing on his lips. And that’s when I realized it. They weren’t bowing to Bill…they were bowing to me. “What is this?” I breathed out as I stared at them in complete awe; I could hear Bill’s footsteps as he came up next to me, his hand resting lightly on my shoulder. “It’s a show of respect, Dipper.” I watched as he reached up to grasp the pendant on my necklace again, his eyes meeting with mine as he smiled sweetly, “You’re as much of a ruler to them now as I am.”

“W-what? Are you serious?” My eyes went wide in shock, my brain not quite able to process what he was saying. He chuckled as he nodded his head, his fingers once again intertwining with mine as he began to lead me into the room. He made his way over to a pair of large, throne-like chairs at the front of the room, motioning for me to take a seat in one of them. I slowly sat down, his hand still locked with mine as he did the same.

He began talking to everyone at that, but I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying; no, I was more focused on all of the people in the room. They were standing once again, a lot of their gazes still on me, and I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. I knew that, at least in the past, none of these people liked me; in fact, a lot of them _hated_ me. I was just some “filthy human” to them, and they’d always talked about how I was making Bill weak. There were even several attempts to overthrow him, all because of me.

But to be honest, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to see them all kneel to me; to be sitting there next to Bill, all of them knowing that I was now ruling by his side. It was empowering, to say the least. I knew that a lot of them were probably pissed off, but it seemed no one was willing to defy Bill, so they all just kept their mouths shut. This was not at all what I’d expected or planned on, but I had to admit, it was nice.

Things continued for a bit before Bill finally dismissed everyone, and I let out a sigh of relief as the last of the people dispersed, leaving him and I alone in the room. “You know,” I laughed softly as I shook my head and stood up, turning to face him, “You could have warned me.” He shrugged and flashed me a smirk as he stood up as well, “I could have, but where would have been the fun in that?” I rolled my eyes and followed him as he started walking across the hall, “I nearly had a heart attack when I opened the door and saw all of those people there.”

He stopped as he reached the entryway and turned to me, a sweet, loving look in his eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this, Dipper. To have you here with me…to not have to worry about losing you again. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance to be with you forever like this. I didn’t think I deserved it, especially after everything that’s happened. But having you here…this is all I could ever ask for, all I could ever want. No matter what happens from here on out, I know that I’ll have you here with me. I love you so much Dipper, more than anything…I’m just so happy that now I get to spend every day proving that to you.”

I could feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I looked at him, completely overwhelmed with emotion. I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his shoulder, holding him as close and tightly as I possibly could. “I love you too, Bill…so, _so_ much!” I laughed as the tears rolled down my cheeks, pulling back just enough to look at him as I smiled brightly. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was where I was meant to be; he was the person that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. I pressed my lips to his as I kissed him passionately, his hands moving to the small of my back as he pulled me closer. I reveled in the sweet taste as his tongue slid against mine, my mind clouded in bliss.

We stumbled through the halls, somehow managing to make it back to the bedroom without being seen. Our arms refused to untangle from one another, our lips locked as he kicked the door closed with is foot and led me over to the bed. The kiss was finally broken as I fell back onto it with a thud, but it didn’t last long; he was on me in a matter of seconds, his hands pulling hastily at my clothes as he tried his best to get them off. I did the same, throwing his jacket and shirt haphazardly across the room and watching in satisfaction as they landed in a heap on the floor. Mine followed soon after, both of us eventually finding ourselves in nothing but skin as our kisses grew heated and lustful.

I wanted him so badly, to feel his body move with mine, and even the thought was intoxicating. I moved to straddle his lap, my body hot and aching for his touch; after the incident with Ford, I refused to do anything while my family was around, so we hadn’t actually been able to be like this since the last time. I moaned into his mouth as his fingers slowly moved to prepare me, his other hand stroking me and making my back arch in pleasure…he always knew just how to drive me wild.  But it wasn’t just about the lust or the sexual pleasure; no, it was different. It was much more than that, and I found that I really missed the feeling of it.

When he touched me, when he kissed me, I could _feel_ how much he loved me. I could feel the desire and the desperation; it wasn’t just like he wanted me, it was like he _needed_ me. He needed me like I needed him, and that feeling was indescribable. I hoisted myself up slightly, my arms draped loosely over his neck as I stared down into his gold and yellow eyes. They had an almost glazed look to them, his breathing labored and his hair a mess as he stared up at me. “I love you so much…” I whispered as I repositioned myself, waiting until I could feel his tip poking at my entrance before I started to slide myself down onto him. I gasped out, digging my nails into his skin as he entered me fully. I stayed in his lap as I clung onto him, my body overtaken with the same intense, hot pleasure I’d felt the last time. It was strange that it didn’t hurt anymore, like my body had molded perfectly to him; I briefly wondered if it was because I wasn’t human anymore, but my thoughts came to a screeching halt as he suddenly thrust up into me with more force than I’d expected.

A load moan escaped my lips as I threw my head back, my hips jerking on their own and causing him to go deeper. “Dipper…” He looked up at me, his eyes filled with complete love and passion as he held me close, “I love you too…” I brought my lips back to his as I slowly began to ride him, our bodies moving together as we clung to each other desperately. His hands found their way to my hips as he gripped them tightly, pulling me down onto him as he thrust up into me over and over again. _God he felt so good_.

“I want you forever…” His voice was hot and lustful as his grip on me tightened, his thrusts growing more and more erratic by the second; it was deep and hot and messy, and I loved _all of it_. I let my moans fill the room, not caring if anyone heard as I rocked my hips with his and let myself give in to the pleasure completely. I never wanted to be like this with anyone else…I never wanted anyone but him. And from the way he kissed me, the way he held me, the way he made me feel like he saw no one but me, I knew he felt the same.

I could feel my hold slipping more and more with every passing second, and I knew I couldn’t hold on for much longer. “B-Bill, I can’t…I-I’m…!” He held my hips in place as he began to thrust into my wildly, and I knew he was trying to push me over the edge. I arched into him, my head tossed back and my arms wrapping tightly around his neck as I came closer and closer to my climax; I caught a glimpse of the room as I opened my eyes, and that’s when I realized that all of the electricity was once again going haywire. My head was spinning, my entire body overtaken with pleasure as I saw bright flashes of blue and green, and that’s when I reached my limit.

“B-Bill!!” I cried out his name as I came, my body shaking fiercely as I rode out my orgasm and held onto him tightly. It lasted much longer than usual, my mind and body both growing weak as he continued to thrust inside of me, his breath loud and raspy as he panted in my ear. His nails dug into me slightly as he jerked my hips down with one final thrust; I could hear him moaning my name as he came inside me, his movements finally coming to a halt. His breath was heavy as he lifted my hips and pulled out, slowly releasing his hold on me. I couldn’t help but fall back as he let go, my body collapsing onto the bed from exhaustion as I stared hazily up at the ceiling. I was still coming down from my high, so I wasn’t completely aware of my surroundings yet, but I could feel the bed sink as he fell next to me.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, my head resting on his chest as my senses gradually returned to me. I let out a sigh of content as he began to run his fingers softly through my hair, his other hand rubbing small circles on the middle of my back; I closed my eyes as I lay there, simply enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. The room grew quiet aside from the sounds of our deep, heavy breathing, and I couldn’t help as I slowly started to drift off.

“Bill?” I could practically hear the fatigue, my voice coming out soft and quiet, “I know I’ve said this a lot, but…I really do love you. I’m so happy that things happened the way they did…” The last part came out as more of a murmur, my eyes no longer able to stay open as my mind began to wander off. I wasn’t even sure if he’d heard it at first, but as he planted a soft kiss in my hair, I knew that he had. “Me too, Dipper…I love you so much.” With that I smiled and nuzzled into his chest, finally allowing myself to drift off into a deep slumber.

It was kind of funny; if I were to go back and tell 13 year old me that Bill Cipher was the love of my life, it would have sounded completely crazy. So many things had happened back then that it just wouldn’t have seemed possible, and I probably wouldn’t have ever believed it. Never in my life did I expect anything like this to happen; to be lying there in his arms, never wanting him to let go. But if there was one thing that I knew for sure, it was that I loved him more than anything.

Part of me had known that for a while, I just never actually wanted to admit it. I probably would have gone my whole life denying it had things not happened the way that they did; but then again, fate always seemed to find a way of bringing us together. The idea of things such as soulmates had always seemed so foreign to me, like something out of a fairy tale, and I never would have guessed that I would be lucky enough to find it. Yet there I was, curled up in the arms of the very person that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with; the only one I could imagine spending it with, at that. And just to think…it all started with one little wish.

Maybe they weren’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, what did you guys think? I had a really hard time figuring out exactly how I wanted it to end, and I feel like it came out a little more anticlimactic than I'd hoped, so I hope it wasn't too sucky or disappointing or anything! This is one of the first fics that I've ever actually finished, and ironically, the longest. A lot of the time I have this problem where I'll start writing a fic, but then I get an idea for another one so I start writing it instead, and the first one never actually gets finished. But when I first started out on this story, I made a deal with myself that no matter what, I would NOT start writing another one until this one was finished. So I devoted all of my time and energy to this one, and low and behold I found myself with a fully completed, 80 page fanficition! I'm really proud of myself for seeing it to the end, because I really did enjoy writing this one. It's sad to see it finally come to its close, but that just means that now I get to move on to the next big project!
> 
> Also, I wanted to say thanks to all of you guys for sticking through it with me. All of the kudos and the comments really mean so much to me, and I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten from you all! This is the most successful and most read fic I've ever written, and that just makes me so happy! Joining AO3 was definitely a great decision, because my writing never got this kind of attention on fanfiction.net. So I just wanted to say thanks again for taking the time to read this story, and I'm glad I got the chance to share it with you all.
> 
> And as always, I hope you are all having great days/nights, and I hope you all enjoyed "Remember Me"!  
> ~SLATS <3


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